Commentary on Seventy-Five Psalms

Blessed is the man. After it has been said, "hath not walked," it seems superfluous that it is added, "nor stood," and "nor sat." For he who does not consent to sin is no longer able even to stand in it, or to persevere. But he does this because he wishes to follow the order in which the first man sinned: so that he might show the second man to be utterly unlike the first. Blessed is the man who hath not walked. This is to be understood of our Lord Jesus Christ, who did not walk in the counsel of the ungodly, as did earthly man, who consented to his wife who had been deceived by the serpent, so as to despise the commands of the Lord. Nor stood in the way of sinners. He did indeed come into the way of sinners, being born as sinners are; but he did not stand, because worldly allurement did not hold him fast. Nor sat in the chair of pestilence. For he did not desire an earthly kingdom with pride.

And this chair is rightly understood as of pestilence, because there are few who are free from the love of ruling, and who do not seek human glory. Pestilence indeed is a disease widely spread, involving all or nearly all. Or the chair of pestilence can be understood as pernicious doctrine. Then the order of the words must be considered: Hath walked, Hath stood, Hath sat. He walked, who withdrew from God. He stood, when he took delight in sin. He sat, when, confirmed in his own pride, he could not return: unless freed by him who neither walked in the counsel of the ungodly, nor stood in the way of sinners, nor sat in the chair of pestilence. It can also be understood of any just man what is said, Blessed is the man who hath not walked. To walk in the counsel of the ungodly is to assent to wicked counsels. He stands in the way of sinners who perseveres in evil works.

But he sits in the chair of pestilence who teaches others the evil that he does. Whoever, then, strives to live blessedly ought to be especially wary of wicked counsels. For it is written: Evil communications corrupt good manners. Wicked works and examples too must likewise be avoided: for just as by the works and examples of good men those who are less good always advance to better things, so sometimes by the deeds and examples of the wicked the weak tend toward worse things. Hence the Psalmist says elsewhere: With the holy thou shalt be holy. And a little after it is added: And with the perverse thou shalt be perverted. All the more studiously, therefore, ought these things to be shunned, the more easily they can deceive unwary minds. The way of blessedness, then, is this: whoever desires to press on to a good work, that he may live blessedly, must first strive to avoid evil, lest it hinder the good he does. Whence it is written: Turn away from evil, and do good.

There follows concerning our Lord Jesus Christ.

But his will was in the law of the Lord, and on his law he will meditate day and night. That Christ's will was in the law of God the Father, the text of the holy Gospel sufficiently shows: where Luke relates how the boy Jesus was found in the temple of the Lord sitting in the midst of the Doctors and questioning them, all being astonished at his wisdom and his answers. Who, when questioned by his parents, said: Why is it that you sought me? Did you not know that I must be about my Father's business? Therefore his will was in the law of the Lord. The boy Jesus would by no means have remained in the temple of the Lord against his parents' wishes, had his will not been in the law of the Lord. And on his law he will meditate day and night. For Christ preached both by day and by night. By day he taught the crowds, by night he revealed the mysteries of the word to his disciples.

Or his will was in the law of the Lord, because the Son never disagreed with the Father's precepts. Hence it is that he himself says: I came not to do my own will, but the will of him who sent me, the Father. From these words what else do we gather, but that we ought to obey the Lord's precepts, not out of fear, but out of love: not from necessity, but from will. For it is not fear or necessity, but love alone that fulfills the law. Hence the Apostle says: For he who loves has fulfilled the law. Nor is it strange if he who is filled with charity meditates in the law of the Lord day and night, that is, continually: or day and night, that is, in prosperity and adversity. For where there is true love, there is meditation on the Divine law: and the mind that is kindled by the love of God is changed neither by prosperity nor by adversity.

And he shall be like a tree that is planted beside the running waters, which shall bring forth its fruit in its season. Of wisdom it is said through Solomon: She is a tree of life to those who have laid hold of her, and blessed is he who holds her fast. But what is Christ, if not the power of God, and the wisdom of God? Whoever lays hold of him by loving and desiring him, without doubt lives forever. We read that in paradise there was a tree of life, of which it was said: See lest perhaps he take of the tree of life, and live forever.

If therefore, taking of this tree, he would live forever, Christ is rightly compared to a tree, who is the food of life, by which whoever eats will live and not die. Now in Holy Scripture the name of waters is sometimes wont to signify a people, as is read in the Apocalypse, where it is said by the angel: Many waters are many peoples. But the course of the waters signifies the fall which comes through sin. Rightly, then, the Lord is described as planted beside the courses of waters, because he deigned to be born among men who run their course by the flux of mortality and sin. Who, like a tree, grew green through the newness of life; flourished through miracles; and gave fruit by bestowing the remission of all sins and eternal life. Rightly, then, it is added that he shall give his fruit in his season.

Of which season and fruit Paul says: After the fullness of time came, God sent his Son on earth, made of a woman, made under the law, that he might redeem those who were under the law. Hence it was said to Abraham, In your seed all nations shall be blessed. He does not say "in seeds," as if in many, but "in your seed," which is Christ, who of himself says, I am the way, the truth, and the life. Or, he is planted like a tree beside the courses of waters, when any just man is rooted and grounded in charity through the infusion of the Holy Spirit. For by the name "tree" is often expressed the just man, or even the unjust; as is said through the prophet: I am the Lord who humbles the lofty tree. Because, according to the voice of Truth, everyone who exalts himself shall be humbled, and he who humbles himself shall be exalted.

Solomon also says: If the tree falls to the south or to the north, wherever it falls, there it shall be. For on the day of his death the just man falls to the south, the sinner to the north: because the just man is led by the fervor of the Holy Spirit to joys, and the sinner is reproved together with the apostate angel (who said, I will sit on the mount of the covenant on the sides of the north) in his own cold heart. Now by waters the grace of the Holy Spirit is wont to be signified. Whence Truth says: If anyone thirst, let him come to me and drink. And, Whoever drinks of the water that I give shall never thirst. By the irrigation of this water it comes about that the faithful soul, through the greenness of faith and hope, may progress in the Lord, and remain fixed in his charity.

And because charity is never idle (for it works great things if it exists), it is rightly said that it will give its fruit in its season. In this present time the elect give their fruit, because the good that they do they attribute to him by whom they were made. Or, to give one's fruit in its season is to present one's works, through this life, to the eternal Judge. Whence, by the parable of the father of the household, someone says, Lord, you delivered to me five talents; behold, I have gained five more besides them. From these words it must be carefully noted that whatever almighty God bestows on us in this life, he gives as a loan, and requires it back with profit.

Nor is it enough to keep what was given, but each must above all multiply it, so that, avoiding the sentence of the slothful servant, he may deserve to hear what is said there: Well done, good and faithful servant, because you have been faithful over a few things, I will set you over many things: enter into the joy of your Lord. Therefore if we do a few things faithfully, while we live here for a short time (for all temporal things are few in comparison to eternity), we shall be set over many things. Many indeed are the heavenly goods, of which it is written, that eye has not seen, nor ear heard, nor has it entered into the heart of man, what God has prepared for those who love him. And his leaf shall not fall off, and whatsoever he shall do shall prosper. By the leaf is understood the word. For what leaves do for a tree, that, by comparison, the words of the Redeemer do in us.

By his fruit indeed we are spiritually fed; but by his speech we are shaded from vices. But how the leaf, that is, the word, does not fall off, he himself shows in the Gospel, where he says: Heaven and earth shall pass away, but my words shall not pass away. For although the sound of the words passes, the meaning that is expressed by the words endures. And whatever is said by the voice of truth, whether in the Law, or in the Prophets, or in the Gospel, or in the Apostolic books, or even through any devout persons, all of it shall be fulfilled through its accomplishment. Whence it is written, One iota, or one tittle shall not pass from the Law, till all things be fulfilled. And because Christ is said to be powerful in deed and word (for he is the power of God and the wisdom of God), rightly it is added concerning him: And whatsoever he shall do shall prosper.

The only-begotten Son of God, coming in the flesh, because he was true God and true Man, taught and did some things as God, other things as Man. But what he did or taught as God profited us for believing rightly. But what he did as Man profited us for living rightly. Thus is fulfilled what is said, and whatsoever he shall do shall prosper. But perhaps it is not believed that he acted prosperously: when he was seized by the Jews, bound, scourged, crucified, killed. Nay rather, then he acted prosperously, because by his death he destroyed our death. Nor would it have profited him to be born in the flesh, if it had not happened that he should die and rise again. And by the wondrous disposition of the Lord it came to pass, that the Jews both fulfilled their own will against Christ, and accomplished the counsel of Christ, which they thought to destroy. But these words which are said of the Head can also apply to his members.

For whoever desires to serve God perfectly seeks to be just not only in deed but also in word. Let it be said, then, of any perfect man: And his leaf shall not fall off, and whatsoever he shall do shall prosper. His leaf shall not fall off, whose speech stands firm in truth. His leaf shall not fall off, because he restrains his tongue from superfluity of words. Hence through Solomon it is said, A wise man will be silent until the time. The Psalmist also says elsewhere, I said, I will guard my ways, that I sin not with my tongue. And James says, He who does not offend in word, is a perfect man. Of this perfect man, then, it is rightly said, And whatsoever he shall do shall prosper.

The deeds of the upright will prosper indeed, when evils are not mixed with good things: when things well begun are carried through to the end: when for these things neither temporal gain, nor earthly glory, nor the favor of men, but only the reward of the heavenly homeland is sought. But sometimes it happens that he who lives perfectly fails in word or deed. Yet even then his word does not fall off, even when he offends, for the fault is held in the heart only so long as it is cured by the satisfaction of penance. And when after the fault he returns more cautiously to justice, what seemed to be against him, even the sin, is turned to prosperity. And in a wondrous way it happens that from whence he sinned, thence he becomes more just. Rightly, then, it is said through Paul, All things work together for good to those who, according to his purpose, are called saints.

All things indeed, not only prosperous things but also adverse things; not only good things but also evil things. Therefore, since every perfect man is both mature in speech and discreet in action, let it rightly be said: And his leaf shall not fall off, and whatsoever he shall do shall prosper. But now let us hear what he adds concerning the wicked.

Not so the wicked, not so. Where the repetition is a threat, as if he said: You will not be blessed thus, nor will you be able to prosper thus. But like dust, which the wind casts away from the face of the earth. Rightly is the wicked man compared to dust, because to the sinning man it is said: Dust you are, and unto dust you shall return. Who, while he is agitated by temptations, is moved like dust by the wind. Whom, while wrath disturbs, pride puffs up, vainglory elevates, luxury enervates, avarice subjects, envy divides, sadness prostrates: by as many movements of temptations as he is pressed, so by as many blasts of winds is dust scattered.

But if the "face of the earth" is taken as the appearance of the heavenly homeland (of which land the Prophet says, I believe to see the good things of the Lord in the land of the living), rightly is the dust described as being cast away from the face of the earth, because the wicked man is removed from the vision of heavenly glory.

Therefore the wicked shall not rise again in judgment. Therefore, that is, because, weighed down by no weight of virtues, they are cast away like dust from the face of the earth. Whence it is written, Let the wicked man be taken away, lest he see the glory of God. Nor sinners in the council of the just. This seems to be a repeated statement, so that what was said above, "the wicked," is understood as "sinners," and what was previously said, "in judgment," is what is here said "in the council of the just." Or, if the wicked are one thing and sinners another (for every wicked man is a sinner, yet not every sinner is wicked): the wicked do not rise again in judgment, understood as, in order to be judged, because they are already assigned to most certain punishments. But sinners do not rise again in the council of the just, understood as, in order to judge, but rather in order to be judged.

But since David says that the wicked do not rise again in judgment, what is it that Paul says: We shall all indeed rise again? For by "all" he wishes to be understood both good and bad, both pious and impious, both sinners and just. But it must be known that all, both good and bad, are to rise again unto life, but not all rise again unto glory. This the same Apostle sufficiently makes clear, adding in the same place, But we shall not all be changed. All indeed shall rise again to live, both good and bad: but not all shall be changed, from life to glory, except the good alone. Why is this?

Because the Lord knows the way of the just. He knows, that is, approves. But the way of the wicked shall perish. As if he said, the Lord does not know the way of the wicked: so that this is "to be unknown by the Lord," what is "to perish"; and this is "to be known by the Lord," what is "to remain." For "to know" in reference to God is taken in two ways: either to know, that is, to be acquainted with; or to know, that is, to approve. Now according to this, that God's knowing is said to mean being acquainted with, the Lord knows both good and bad. As it is written, He knows both the deceiver and him who is deceived: for he would not judge any wicked man, if he did not know him at all. And yet he "does not know" the wicked man, because he does not approve his deeds.

And so he knows, because he perceives; and he does not know, because he does not recognize this man in the likeness of his own wisdom. Hence he is going to say to them in judgment, Amen I say to you, I do not know you. But according to this, that "to know" is said to mean "to approve," the Lord knows none but the good, whence it is written: The Lord knows who are his. Whom he therefore knows, because he foreknew and predestined them to be made conformable to the image of his Son. Therefore, because almighty God knows the working of the just in such a way as to approve it, but does not know the action of the wicked in such a way as to reprove it, let it be rightly said, Because the Lord knows the way of the just, and the way of the wicked shall perish.

The second Psalm is entitled thus: A Psalm of David. It should be noted that titles are placed before certain Psalms in such a way as to indicate the intention: in some, to indicate the matter; and in some, both. Psalm is properly called Melos, because it proceeds from the psaltery by the motion and labor of the hands, and therefore it is often set for good work, which cannot be done without labor. And insofar as an exhortation to good work is contained in this business, therefore such a name befits the business itself, that it should be called a psalm. This psalm, therefore, that is, the exhortation to good work that follows, is to be attributed to David, that is, to Christ, who is truly interpreted as David, that is, desirable in sight, or strong in hand. For who is so desirable as he, of whom it is written: Whose face the whole earth desires, and into whom the angels desire to look? And who is stronger than he, who did whatsoever he willed?

Who expelled the prince of this world from his kingdom, who by his death destroyed our death (Hosea 13)? And it should be known that when a Psalm is entitled such that "Psalm" is placed before it, and not "Canticle," it is signified that it treats of morals. But when it is "Canticle" and not "Psalm," it treats not of morals but of mystical understanding. The intention of Christ, to whom these words belong, is this: that all the faithful should place their hope and confidence of good life, not in themselves, but in Christ, both as to beginning and as to end. For sometimes the holy Prophets foresee future things in the same way as they know past things. Holy David, because he foresaw what was to come concerning the passion of Christ and his persecutors, chose to narrate it not in the future, but in the past tense: so that from his own words he might show that, by the revelation of the Holy Spirit, he was as certain of future things as of past ones.

He says, then, concerning the persecutors of Christ.

Why did the nations rage, that is, the Gentiles; and the peoples, that is, the Jews, meditate vain things? And why did the kings of the earth stand up, Herod and Pilate, and the rulers Annas and Caiaphas come together into one, in counsel and place, against the Lord, the Father, and against his Christ, the Son? Such indeed was the madness of fury that seized them, such blindness of malice struck them, that they did not fear to slay with one accord even their own author, whom they ought to have believed and adored. Now it is said, "Why", as if it were said, "in vain." For they did not accomplish what they willed. For those who killed Christ for this reason, that they might blot out his name from the earth, and lest they themselves should lose their place and nation: for this very reason they increased his name, and for this very reason they lost both nation and place, because they killed the innocent Lord.

And in a wondrous way it came to pass, that while they believed they were fulfilling their own counsel, unwillingly and unknowingly they fulfilled the counsel of the Lord. Therefore they meditated vain things. For there is no wisdom, no prudence, no counsel against the Lord. But what vain things did they meditate?

Let us break, they say, their bonds, and let us cast away from us their yoke, that is, let us destroy the bonds of the Christian religion, lest they be able to subject us to themselves. Thus, thus proud minds frequently rise up against their own author, while they seek to fulfill their own will and not his: and the more they strain beyond him by whom they were made, the more grievously they fall. But what follows?

He that dwells in the heavens shall laugh at them, and the Lord shall deride them. Because those dwelling on earth presumed to laugh at and deride the heavenly Lord, they shall be shown by that same heavenly God to be worthy of derision and mockery. For he who rose from the dead, and now reigning dwells in the heavens, when he comes to judgment, will show them worthy of derision (as we have already said) and mockery. Hence it is said through Wisdom: Because I called, and you refused, I stretched out my hand, and there was none that regarded: you despised all my counsel, and neglected my reproofs. I also will laugh in your destruction, and will mock, when that which you feared shall come upon you. When sudden calamity shall rush in, and destruction shall come like a tempest: when tribulation and distress shall come upon you: then shall they call upon me, and I will not hear: they shall rise early, and shall not find me.

Then shall he speak to them in his anger, he who before kept silence in his meekness. And in his fury he shall trouble them: whom before he bore with in the longsuffering of his patience. But the anger and fury of the Lord must not be understood as perturbation of mind, but as the power by which he judges most justly. He shall speak to them in his anger, when in his judgment he shall rebuke them with harsh reproof: he shall trouble them in his fury, when he shall strike the wicked with strict retribution. Behold, the merciful God appears to us sinners not angry, but appeased: he sees our evils, and patiently bears with them. Therefore he bears with us long, that he may draw us to repentance. But he who now neglects him appeased, will surely feel him angered. And the harder anyone now is toward repentance, the stricter he himself will be toward vengeance. But let us hear how he who dwells in the heavens also reigns on earth; for he says:

But I am appointed king by him, understand, by my Father, over Sion his holy mountain, preaching his precept. I, I say, whose bonds they were meditating to break, and whose yoke to cast off. By Sion, which is called "watching" or "speculation," the holy Church is understood: whose intention is daily raised up to behold the brightness of God. As the Apostle says: But we, with open face beholding the glory of the Lord. This Church he calls a holy mountain, on account of its eminence and firmness. Over this Church, then, the Only-begotten of God the Father has been appointed king, not that he should reign with earthly rule, but heavenly. For he says in a certain place: My kingdom is not of this world. Therefore it is above the world. And when they would have taken him by force to make him king, that he might reign temporally over them, he fled, and refused earthly rule.

Therefore Christ has been appointed king in us spiritually, so that, the malignant prince having been expelled from our hearts, he himself may reign in the inner man according to the spirit, according to the gifts of graces, and the bestowals of virtues, and the building up of morals, unto the salvation of our souls: so that sin may no longer reign in our mortal body, nor may we serve uncleanness unto iniquity, but rather righteousness unto sanctification. Thus, then, Christ desires to reign in us, that he may defend us from unclean spirits and vices, that he may fortify us with virtues and sacred works. Thus he seeks to reign in us, that he may be able to lead us by his rule to the heavenly kingdom. But because we are still in the contest, he does not cease to admonish us with his precepts.

Whence it is well said, Preaching his precept: because he says not "precepts," but "precept"—perhaps he thereby signifies to us charity, in which all precepts are ended: and if anyone shall have fulfilled it, the rest will be fulfilled by that very one. This precept Christ preaches to us daily; by this precept he raises us from earthly things to heavenly things: and whatever he says through other precepts, he always intends to direct us to this one precept. Which indeed is a twofold commandment: for in the love of God is the love of neighbor. And it is written: On these two commandments hang the law and the prophets. Whatever, then, the law, whatever the prophecy, whatever the Gospel, whatever the Apostolic word preaches: all is consummated in one precept, that is, one charity. But because we have heard of his power, let us hear of the dignity of this our king. For it follows, and says:

The Lord said to me, You are my Son, this day have I begotten you. What we hear through the Prophet, this also we read through the Gospel. For there it is said, that when the Lord Jesus was baptized, the Holy Spirit descended in the form of a dove, and the voice of the Father thundered, This is my beloved Son, in whom I am well pleased, hear him. Where the Trinity clearly showed itself to human nature: because the Son of God appeared in the form of man, and the Holy Spirit in the form of a dove, and the voice of the Father in the likeness of a human voice.

Although that day may seem able to be understood in the prophecy as the day on which Jesus Christ was born according to man: yet, since "today" signifies presence, and in eternity there is neither past nor future, but present: it is understood in a divine sense according to that saying, This day have I begotten you: by which the catholic faith proclaims the everlasting generation of the power and wisdom of God, who is the Only-begotten Son. We believe, then, that there are two generations in Christ: one divine, the other human: one by which he was born of the Father in heaven without a mother, the other by which he was born on earth of a mother without a father. According to the former, when we were nothing, he created us. According to the latter, when we were lost, he reformed us. The Only-begotten Son, therefore, born of the Father without time, because he did not wish to have his heavenly inheritance alone, formed human nature for the contemplation of his glory.

But because it perished through sin, he sought it out also in this way, by being born in the flesh: and he who had made man in the image and likeness of God, by a wondrous impulse of his love was himself made in the likeness of man. And from whence he humbled himself to our humanity, thence he raised us up to the glory of his inheritance. In this generation and humiliation of the flesh, then, it is said to him by the Father:

Ask of me, and I will give you the nations for your inheritance, and the ends of the earth for your possession. He who asks seems indeed lesser than he who is asked. And in that Christ took on flesh, he made himself lesser than his Father through his humanity. For in that he is, in the form of God, equal to the Father, he does not ask of the Father, but works all things together with the Father. But in that he deigned to humble himself for us, made lesser than the Father, he does not cease to intercede for us. Ask, he says, of me, and I will give you the nations for your inheritance. The holy Patriarchs and Prophets asked on behalf of the Jews. The Only-begotten Son of God himself, made man among men, deigned to ask on behalf of the Gentiles. They asked salvation for their own nation, and God sent them a Savior. But because they saw him humble in the flesh, with proud and blind heart they despised him.

But whom proud Judea rejected, humbled Gentility received. That one, through pride, lost the inheritance: this one, through humility, came to the inheritance. But because this was done not by their own merits, but by the will of the Son of God, and by the assent of his Father, it is rightly said to him, Ask of me, and I will give you the nations for your inheritance. For he does not say, Let those nations ask, but "ask, you." From which words it is sufficiently gathered, that Gentility is not saved by its own merits: but he sought that this be done, who obeyed the Father for us even unto the death of the cross. And because the Gentile people were gathered to the faith from the farthest parts of the world, it is rightly said, And the ends of the earth for your possession, understand, I will give you.

For while persecution rages in Judea, the holy preaching of the Apostles is scattered throughout the whole world: as it is written, To you was the word of God sent; but because you have judged yourselves unworthy, behold, we go to the Gentiles. For the cruelty of the malice, then, which inflamed the mind of Judea, almighty God took the nations for an inheritance: because through this, that she persecuted her Redeemer and his members, the holy Apostles having been scattered through diverse regions, we who are round about Judea behold, by the gift of heavenly grace, the splendor of the true light. But because he found us in strength of life, and led us back to the rule of righteousness, it is well added:

Thou shalt rule them with a rod of iron, and shalt break them in pieces like a potter’s vessel. By the iron rod is understood inflexible justice, which is called a rod because it is straight; iron, because it is hard. Straight to us, hard to the wicked; gentle to the just, harsh to the perverse. And because through this the Lord rules the spiritual, and breaks the carnal, it is rightly said: And thou shalt break them in pieces like a potter’s vessel. For what are earthly hearts but earthen vessels? For a vessel is fragile, earthly, and brittle. Carnal hearts, therefore, which desire transitory things, love that which is corruptible and vile, and bend all their desires upon earthly things—what else are they but earthen vessels?

These the Lord breaks with the iron rod, when through the straightness of justice he destroys the carnality within them, when he crushes the elation of the mind, when their own weakness is brought back to memory, and the misery of corruption is diligently attended to, and the breaking of vices is prudently weighed. Since, therefore, the highest goodness so smites us that it may rule us, and so breaks us that it may better restore us, changing vessels of wrath into vessels of mercy, and making vessels fit for destruction fit for glory: it is rightly said, Thou shalt rule them with a rod of iron, and shalt break them in pieces like a potter’s vessel. To these the divine word now speaks, when it adds:

And now, O ye kings, understand: receive instruction, ye that judge the earth. And now—that is, now renewed—now that the earthen carnal coverings are broken, the vessels of error which pertain to the carnal life: now understand, now being kings, that is, capable of ruling whatever in you is servile and bestial: chastising your bodies and subjecting them to servitude. Those who serve the heavenly King are without doubt kings; for to serve him is truly to reign. For the more one is freed from vices, the more powerfully he rules himself spiritually, the more humbly he serves his Maker. Receive instruction, he says, ye that judge the earth. By this the spiritual are signified, who judge the earth. For whatever we judge is beneath us. Now whatever is beneath the spiritual man is rightly called earth, because it is wounded by earthly corruption. He who accuses himself as a sinner, and condemns himself by his own judgment, and pursues himself with harsh reproofs, is not undeservedly called an earthly judge.

To such it is said, understand and be instructed—that is, understand to this end, that you may be instructed. For understanding does not profit, if it does not come to the instruction of life. But he is an instructed understander, who studies to draw what he is able to understand toward the edification of his own life. 10. Serve ye the Lord with fear, and rejoice unto him with trembling. For it often happens that he who purely serves the heavenly Lord, from that very virtue raises himself into elation, and departs from the service of the Lord all the sooner, the more he departs from the virtue of humility. Wherefore it is necessary that love so serve, as long as fear keeps the mind always repressed in humility, lest the wind of elation carry off the fruit that a good life has gathered.

Or because in this world we are placed between the joy of hope and the fear of temptation, the Holy Spirit addresses us, saying: Serve the Lord with fear, and rejoice unto him with trembling: that exultation may be born of hope, and trembling of temptation. For even if the action of the just is sometimes prosperous, yet it is placed in that life of which it is said through blessed Job, the life of man upon earth is a temptation. Since, therefore, we live amid the pleasant and the harsh, amid prosperity and adversity, amid sadness and joy, amid hope and fear: it is rightly said, Serve the Lord with fear, and rejoice unto him with trembling. But because it is not enough to do good things, unless one is also able to bear evil things with equanimity, it is added:

Lay hold of discipline, lest at any time the Lord be angry, and you perish from the just way. Discipline is a corrective tribulation, according to that saying, For whom the Lord loveth, he chasteneth: and he scourgeth every son whom he receiveth. And because justice is exercised now in prosperity, now in adversity: in prosperity indeed fear, but in adversity the patience of discipline is enjoined; lest, if he is lifted up in the former, he fall into the pit of elation, or if he is cast down in the latter, he collapse overcome by the vice of pusillanimity. Whoever neglects to lay hold of this discipline perishes indeed from the way of justice, and walks miserably through the ways of iniquity; and provokes the almighty Lord to anger the more, the more he refuses to bear adversities for love of him.

For since it is written, For the sufferings of this time are not worthy to be compared with the glory to come, that shall be revealed in us: and that Eye hath not seen, nor ear heard, neither hath it entered into the heart of man, what things God hath prepared for them that love him: since God promises incomparable goods, and the world imposes the smallest evils: rightly ought the just Lord to be angry, when he sees such great things despised for the sake of such small ones. For if they loved the sweetness of the heavenly homeland, they would bear all tribulations with great joy; since it is certain that from the endurance of this tribulation grows the inestimable reward of its sweetness. But the reason for laying hold of discipline is further added, when it is subjoined:

When his wrath shall be kindled in a short time: Blessed are all they that trust in him. Now, while the anger of the strict Judge is deferred, and the sinner is praised in the desires of his soul: while the just man endures tribulations and distresses, it does not appear which is the punishment of the wicked, and which is the glory of the just. Hence it is that John the Apostle says, Dearly beloved, now we are the sons of God; and it hath not yet appeared what we shall be. But we know that, when he shall appear, we shall be like to him: because we shall see him as he is. Then indeed it will appear how deceptive the confidence of this world has been, how transitory life, how brief glory, how small pleasure, how false prosperity, and how quickly whatever was dear and precious here has passed away. Unhappy, therefore, are they who trusted in such things. But blessed are all they that trust in the Lord.

The third Psalm is to be understood as spoken in the person of Christ, treating of his passion and resurrection. And it sends us back to that history in which it is said that David fled from the face of Absalom his son, who warred against him. The prophet Ezra, understanding that this history foreshadowed those things that were done in the passion of Christ, prefixed this title: A Psalm of David, when he fled from the face of Absalom his son. Which is expounded thus: this Psalm, that is, this exhortation to right conduct which is contained in the following matter, is of David, that is, of Christ, who is strong of hand. A Psalm (I say) held concerning those things that happened, when he fled—that is, when, withdrawing his grace, he departed from the face of Absalom his son, that is, from the mind of Judas, whom, together with the other Apostles, he chose by his grace to this end, that he might be his son.

And it is fitting that Absalom, whose name means "the peace of the father," should be understood as the betrayer of Christ himself: because although he himself had no peace with Christ, yet Christ both gave him peace with his mouth, and held it in his heart. The Lord, therefore, seeing that his elect would suffer for justice’s sake not only from others but even from friends and kinsmen, intends in this work to exhort them to steadfastness in suffering, setting himself forth as an example: that as he himself was steadfast in his own passion, and called upon the Lord out of his tribulation, and that very tribulation availed him unto glory and exaltation: so they, considering that they will be exalted through tribulations, should turn themselves to prayers, thinking that he is their head and advocate, and should not fail. There follows concerning the psalm.

Lord, why are they multiplied that trouble me? Many are they who rise up against me. This inquiry is made not for lack of knowledge, but for the instruction of the perfect; that, by considering the end of their tribulation, they may remain steadfast. So many indeed are multiplied who rise up and trouble him, that even from the number of his disciples one was not lacking who joined the number of his persecutors. O wondrous patience of Almighty God! Those whom he could have destroyed with a single word, these he deigned, out of his wondrous meekness, to endure, that he might show forth in himself what virtue of patience ought to be in us. For the eternal Creator made an example of himself for us, that since the heavenly God was so humbled, earthly man might now cease to be proud.

But these words of its Head are still retained by his body, which is the Church, which, while it is pressed by tribulations, while it beholds the perverse rising up against it, cries out and says: Lord, why are they multiplied that trouble me?

Many are they who rise up against me. This the holy martyrs cried out, when they saw the persecutors of the Church multiplied. This the present Church does not cease to cry out, which even in the time of its peace labors amid many adversities, while it is agitated by the temptations of the hidden enemy, while it is burdened by the conduct of those who live wickedly, while it grievously bears the open injuries of carnal men, and bears yet more heavily the pretense of certain persons who, as if just, put on the semblance of holiness—so long as the flesh lusteth against the spirit, and the spirit against the flesh, and the body which is corrupted weighs down the soul, and the earthly habitation presses down the mind that thinks many things: so long as it remains in this perilous and laborious life, so long the faithful soul has cause to say: Lord, why are they multiplied that trouble me? Many are they that rise up against me.

Many say to my soul, There is no salvation for him in his God. It is clear that these words were spoken by those who did not believe that Christ was God. To this purpose belong those words, If he be the Son of God, let him come down from the cross. For if they had known it, they would never have crucified the Lord of glory. And since often, through the accumulation of vices, despair of health steals in upon a soul, as though the vices themselves insult the soul—or even the devil and his angels work through harmful suggestions that we may despair—it is most truly said: Many say to my soul, There is no salvation for him in his God. But whatever adversary assails us, whatever tribulation weighs us down, that which follows must always be said: 4. But thou, O Lord, art my protector, my glory, and the lifter up of my head. By the name of "head" in sacred speech the mind is usually understood.

For as the members are ruled by the head, so the senses are ruled by the mind. Such the goodness on high willingly receives, whom it sees humbly fleeing to its aid: and it lifts up their head, that is, their mind, by the gift of its grace, whom it delights to glory not in this world, not in themselves, but in the Lord their God. Hence the Apostle admonishes us, saying: He that glorieth, let him glory in the Lord. For if you glory in the Lord, God glories in you. If you seek not your own glory, but his, he himself seeks how to exalt and glorify you. Hence the holy Patriarchs and Prophets, hence the Apostles and the other just men, were exalted and glorified by the Lord God, because, despising themselves in this world, they sought the glory of the Lord, not their own. Or what is said, But thou, O Lord, art my protector, and so forth, is said according to the man: because the assumption of man is the Word made flesh.

He also calls his own glory the glory of the Lord, whom the Word of God so assumed that God became like to him. By this rule we are led, that no one should glory in himself. But Christ had his head exalted in his passion, because in such great humility of his passion, he did not lose the fortitude of mind.

With my voice, he says, I cried unto the Lord, and he heard me out of his holy mountain. To cry unto the Lord with one's voice is to entreat the Lord earnestly. One cries with his voice when whoever prays so intently that the sound of the voice does not differ from the intention of the heart. Hence an excellent teacher says, When you pray to the Lord with psalms and hymns, let that which is uttered by the mouth be turning over in the heart. And the Apostle says, I will sing with the spirit, I will sing also with the understanding. Such the Lord willingly hears, namely those whom he perceives crying out in this way: whence it is said in blessing, And he heard me out of his holy mountain, that is, out of the height of his justice. For we read, Thy justice is like the mountains of God.

And it was fitting that he should raise from the dead the innocent one who was slain, to whom evils were repaid for us, and render to his persecutors what they deserved. He also hears us out of his holy mountain, when he receives our prayers not on the basis of our merits, but out of his own holy mercy. For we are not worthy to be heard, but he himself is merciful, that he may hear us. Hence it is said through the Apostle, Not by works of righteousness which we have done, but according to his mercy he saved us. But he himself, through whom we have been saved, says, I slept and took my rest, and I rose up, because the Lord sustained me. The sleep of one dying, and the sleep of one dead, may be understood differently: so that sleep is that by which one passes into slumber, just as awakening is that by which one passes into wakefulness. Well then is it understood: I slept and took my rest.

I gave myself over to suffering, and death followed. Or Christ slept then, when, having undertaken death, he rested from temporal pain. He took his rest then, when he remained the next day in the tomb; but on the third day he rose from the dead. Hence here he says, And I rose up, because the Lord sustained me. For rising from the dead, he was received into the glory of God the Father. Or this can be said by any believer, recalling the death of his sins and the gift of regeneration, I slept, and so forth. For we slept, when we grew sluggish in good work: when we lay delighting in our own depravity: when it was sweet to us to sin, and indeed to persevere in those sins. But from this sleep of death the life-giving grace made us wake, when it brought our evils back to memory: when it turned the sweetness of sins into bitterness, and formed our mind to the laments of penitence, and roused us, torpid in vices, to good works.

But the grace of the Lord is commended, when it is said, I rose up, because the Lord sustained me. For unless his grace had sustained us, our soul would by no means have risen from the death of sin. But because whoever is raised up by the Lord is rendered strong against every adversary, it is rightly added. I will not fear thousands of the people surrounding me. Arise, O Lord, save me, O my God. Arise, that is, make me arise. It is the custom of the divine Scriptures to attribute to the person of God what he works in us. Whence there is that saying, Do you seek a proof of him who speaks in me, Christ? For he does not say, By whose command I speak: but attributes the very speech outright to him by whose gift he spoke. But because the number a thousand is a perfect number, by "thousands of the people" the whole multitude of the wicked is designated.

He then whom the Lord raises up and saves does not fear thousands of the people: because he fears the whole multitude of evildoers all the less, the more he has the one omnipotent God as his protector. Or if what is said, I will not fear thousands of the people surrounding me, is understood as spoken from the person of the Lord: it is plain that he no longer fears his adversaries, because they are unable to afflict him bodily. For Christ, rising from the dead, dies no more; death shall no longer have dominion over him. And he has his enemies under him, inasmuch as, sitting at the right hand of God the Father, all power in heaven and on earth has been given to him. But why he should not fear, he gives the reason, when he adds. For thou hast struck all those who oppose me without cause: thou hast broken the teeth of sinners. Who does not know that his enemies opposed Christ without cause?

For he did no sin, neither was guile found in his mouth. But because God is just and merciful, he has struck all his adversaries: some by the vengeance of retribution unto damnation, others by the pain of repentance unto salvation. But if by "those who oppose" evil spirits are understood, or any wicked men who now persecute the Church of Christ: these indeed shall be struck down by the Lord at the end of the age. Thou hast broken the teeth of sinners. By teeth cursed words are designated: of which the Apostle Paul says, But if you bite one another, take heed that you be not consumed one of another. Teeth can also be understood as the leaders of sinners, by whose authority a man is rightly cut off from the fellowship of those who live rightly, and is, as it were, incorporated among those who live wickedly. The Lord, then, breaks the teeth of sinners, when he reduces them and their words to nothing.

Let the wicked adversaries fear, then: because if they themselves strike unjustly, they have over them the Lord, by whom they are justly struck. Let evil powers fear: because if they oppress others, they have over them a power by which they are oppressed. But what is our hope?

Salvation, he says, is of the Lord, and thy blessing is upon thy people. We indeed are weak and feeble: let no one presume upon himself, since salvation is of the Lord, who saves from the death of sin. Wretched man that I am, who shall deliver me from the body of this death? The grace of God through Jesus Christ our Lord. Therefore salvation is of the Lord. But what is the blessing of his people? Is it not that of which it is said, Come, ye blessed of my Father, receive the kingdom prepared for you from the foundation of the world? Such a blessing be upon us and upon our children. Amen.

It must be known that in the title of certain matters the "psalm" is placed first, in such a way that a "canticle" does not follow. In others, however, "canticle" is placed first, so that "psalm" does not follow. In others, "psalm" is placed first, and "canticle" follows. In others, "canticle" precedes, and "psalm" follows: which variety must be noted. For where "psalm" alone is set, it is designated that in the following matter there is dealt with, simply, morality. But where "canticle" alone, it is shown that joyfulness is being treated. And where "psalm" precedes and "canticle" follows, a treatise on morality is had: yet in such a way that mention is made of the reward to which morality tends. But where "canticle" precedes and "psalm" follows, a discourse is made on the joyfulness of the reward: yet in such a way that some mention is made of the morality by which it is attained. This psalm is thus entitled, Unto the end, a psalm of a canticle of David.

It is explained thus: This psalm of a canticle, that is, the present exhortation of good morality, in which mention is made of a canticle, that is, of the joyfulness of eternal reward, is of David, that is, of Christ, or of some believer trusting and hoping in Christ: I say of David, directing those whom he exhorts, unto the end, that is, unto him who is the end and fulfillment of the law and the prophets. Or "end," that is, the goal and consummation of the whole contest. Or "end," that is, the consummated rest of blessedness. The intention of Christ, or of whoever believes in him, in this psalm, is to persuade those who delight in earthly things, that, going forth from the tribulation of vices, and neglecting earthly things, they should seek the eternal goods which are in the end, that is, in Christ: putting himself forward to them as an example, and thus speaking.

When I called upon him, the God of my justice heard me. This means: when I prayed inwardly in my heart, he heard me, he from whom my justice comes. In tribulation thou hast enlarged me. This means: from the straits of sadness thou hast led me into the breadth of joys. Tribulation and anguish upon every soul of man that worketh evil. But he who says, We rejoice in tribulations, knowing that tribulation worketh patience: and that the love of God is poured out in our hearts by the Holy Spirit who is given unto us: he does not have anguish of heart, though it be inflicted from without by persecutors. In this the harshness of tribulation profits the just, that while they are afflicted in body, they are enlarged in heart: and the more closely temporal evils press upon them, the more widely do they desire heavenly goods. Since, then, from the straits of tribulation the enlargement of the mind grows, it is rightly said, In tribulation thou hast enlarged me.

The change of person from the third to the second, perhaps happens for this reason, to show how he was heard, speaking to God in that very enlargement: so that this is to be enlarged in heart, namely already to have God infused into the heart, with whom one converses inwardly: to whom now he prays and says: Have mercy on me, and hear my prayer. That he asks again, when he has already indicated that he was heard and enlarged, perhaps happens for this reason: that in whatever respect he was not heard, he may still be heard: or in what he is not perfect, he may be perfected: or on account of others who are beginning, so that in those who have believed, that which they have begun may be perfected. For the just have this as their own property, that in all they say and all they do, they seek not only their own progress, but also the edification of their neighbors. Whence it is fittingly added:

O ye sons of men, how long will ye be heavy of heart? Why do ye love vanity, and seek after a lie? As if he said, You, who dwell in mind in carnal generation, unto what end do you have a heart hardened, in that you do not believe God, and do not think upon invisible goods? Why do you love vanity and seek after a lie? For what fruit, for what advantage do you, loving temporal things, seek them, and seeking them, love them, which are vain, because they cannot endure: and lying, because they deceive their lovers?

And know that the Lord hath made his holy one wonderful. Namely him whom he raised from the dead, and set at his right hand in heaven. The human race is therefore reproved, that it may at last be converted from the love of this world to him. But if anyone is troubled by the conjunction added, where it says, And know, let him know that this kind of expression is familiar to prophetic speech. For you often find it begun thus: And the Lord said to him: And the word of the Lord came to him. This joining of a conjunction, where no preceding sentence exists to which the consequent may be attached, perhaps marvelously suggests that the utterance of truth in the voice is joined with that vision which occurs in the heart. The Lord will hear me, when I cry unto him.

Here I believe we are admonished to implore the help of God with great intensity of heart: since just as one must give thanks for illumination in this life, so one must pray for rest after this life. Wherefore it must be taken either from the person of the believer proclaiming, or from the Lord himself, as if it had been said, The Lord will hear you, when you shall cry unto him.

Be angry, and sin not: For the question would arise, Who is worthy to be heard? Or how does not the sinner cry in vain to the Lord? Therefore, Be angry, he says, understood as with yourselves, greatly repenting of past crimes, and being indignant that you have fallen to such abject and vile things: and cease to sin any further. The things which you say in your hearts. Understood as, say them. Do not be the people of whom it is said, This people honoreth me with their lips, but their heart is far from me. Be compunct in your chambers. Chambers are those of which the Lord admonishes, that we should pray within, with doors shut. But be compunct refers to the pain of repentance, so that the soul, punishing itself, may be pierced with compunction, lest it be tormented, condemned in the judgment of God. Or it pertains to arousal, that we may awaken to see the light of Christ, as if goads were being applied.

Offer the sacrifice of righteousness, and hope in the Lord. The sacrifice of righteousness is the works of a righteous man after repentance. For what is more just than that each one should be angry rather at his own sins than at another's, and, punishing himself, should sacrifice himself to God? He also intimates the passage from the old life to the new: so that, the old man being extinguished after repentance, the sacrifice of righteousness may be offered to God according to the regeneration of the new man: when the soul now offers itself, and places itself upon the altar of Faith, to be seized by the divine fire, that is, the Holy Spirit: so that the sense is this, Offer the sacrifice of righteousness, and hope in the Lord, that is, Live rightly, and hope for the gift of the Holy Spirit. But what is hoped for, if not good things?

But because he wishes to obtain from God that good which he loves, and few there are who love the inward goods: having marvelously said, And hope in the Lord: he adds, Many say, Who will show us good things? Which question is the daily one of all the foolish and unjust, who desire the peace and security of the present life, and doubt concerning the future life which is promised to us: who often say, Who knows whether these things are true? Or who has come from the dead, to bring back word of these things? Magnificently therefore and briefly he shows what goods are to be sought: answering their question.

The light of thy countenance, O Lord, is signed upon us. This light is the whole good of man, which is beheld not with the eyes but with the mind. He said, moreover, that it is signed upon us: just as a coin is stamped with the image of the King. For man was made to the image and likeness of God, which he corrupted by sinning. His good, therefore, is true and eternal, if by being reborn it be sealed. Thou hast given gladness in my heart. Gladness, therefore, is not to be sought outwardly by those who, still heavy of heart, love vanity and seek falsehood: but inwardly, where the light of God's countenance is signed. For in the inner man Christ dwells. But men, pursuing temporal things, know how to say nothing else but, Who will show us good things? Since they cannot see the true goods within themselves. Accordingly it is said next concerning them:

They are multiplied from the fruit of their corn, wine, and oil. It is not without purpose that "their own" is added, for there is a corn of God: namely, the living bread which came down from heaven. And there is a wine of God: for they shall be inebriated (he says) with the abundance of thy house. There is also an oil, of which it is said: Thou hast anointed my head with oil. But these many who say, Who will show us good things? Are multiplied from the fruit of their own corn, wine, and oil. Their own, not God's—that is, temporal, not spiritual. But these being left behind, who are multiplied by the desire of temporal things, the faithful man exults, and says:

In peace, in the selfsame, I will sleep and I will rest. For rightly there is overcome by such men every kind of alienation of the mind from mortal things, and forgetfulness of the miseries of this world, which is fittingly and prophetically signified by the name of sleeping and slumber. But this is not held fast in this life; rather it is to be hoped for in the future. This the words also show, which are of the future tense.

For thou, O Lord, hast singularly settled me in hope. He rightly says, Singularly. For the aforementioned multiplicity has perished, and singularity holds sway in the saints: of whom it is said in the Acts of the Apostles, Of the multitude of them that believed, there was one heart and one soul. We ought, therefore, to be single and simple, that is, set apart from the multitude and crowd of things being born, and lovers of eternity and of unity, if we desire to cling to the one God and Lord.

The title of the Psalm is, For her that receiveth the inheritance. This is understood to be the Church, which receives the inheritance, that is, eternal life through the Lord Jesus: that she may possess him, and be possessed by him. The intention of this same Church in this Psalm is, by praying and doing well, to invite all the faithful to the inheritance of eternal blessedness, setting herself forth as an example, and praying thus.

Give ear to my words, O Lord, understand my cry. The Church, having been called, invokes God, that (with him aiding) she may pass through the wickedness of this world, and come to him. But what are the ears of the divinity, but his kindness and mercy, by which he deigns to hear us? It is likewise his part to understand our cry, to attend to and approve the desire of our heart. The Lord perceives our words, as it were, with his ears, when he receives our prayers with piety and mercy. And rightly, after "words," "cry" is added: because our words of supplication then please God, when they proceed from the desire of the heart. Hence it is said through the Apostle, I will sing with the spirit, I will sing also with the mind. But because it does not suffice that God hear our words and understand our cry, unless he bring it to effect: it is rightly added:

Attend to the voice of my prayer, my King and my God. As if he were to say: So hear my words, so understand my desires, that the effect of the matter may prove thee to be attentive to my prayers. And because the prayer of the holy Church is sent to the Father through the Son, he fittingly says, My King and my God. For by "King" he designates the Son: by "God," the Father. And the Son says, Through me one goes to the Father. Rightly, therefore, first "my King," then "my God." Yet he did not say "attend ye," but "attend": because the Father and the Son are not two Gods, but one God. He also adds the cause why he should be heard, when it is further added:

For unto thee will I pray, O Lord. And immediately he adds, In the morning thou shalt hear my voice. What is it that he said above, "Hear," as though he desired to be heard in the present: but now says, "Thou shalt hear in the morning," not "hear," and, "unto thee will I pray," and, "I will stand before thee," and "I will see"? Perhaps his earlier prayer shows the very calling. But growing dim amid the storms of this world, because he perceives that he does not see what he desires: therefore he says, "In the morning thou shalt hear." As if he said, Thou art not one who canst be seen by those from whose eyes the night of sin has not yet departed: but in the morning, that is, when the night of my error is finished, and the darkness of sins is departing, Thou shalt hear my voice: that is, thou shalt show my voice to have been heard.

In the morning I will stand before thee, and will see. "I will stand," he says, not "I will lie down." For to lie down is to rest in earthly things. We must not, then, cling to earthly things, if we wish to see God. And he explains the reason why he will stand in the morning and see: Because thou art not a God that willest iniquity. Iniquity, malice, falsehood, murder, deceit, and whatsoever is of this kind, is night: which passing away, morning comes, so that God may be seen. We, as long as we are in this world amid temptations, lie in the darkness of sins: neither do we possess the true forthwith, nor do we truly see. For truly to stand is to remain in the blessedness of eternity: and to see the true is to contemplate God in his majesty.

But he who truly is, and remains unchangeable, With whom (as James says) there is no change nor shadow of alteration, since he is not a God who wills iniquity: therefore in this world, where iniquity abounds, he does not show himself. But because it is to come to pass that the night of this iniquity shall pass away, and morning, that is, in the resurrection, he shall restore his elect to the state of immortality and to the vision of his contemplation: it is rightly said in the voice of the Church, In the morning I will stand before thee, and will see: because thou art not a God that willest iniquity. But because in the gathering of the just there will be the rejection of the impious, it is rightly added:

Neither shall the malignant dwell near thee, nor shall the unjust remain before thy eyes. "Malignant" is said as it were full of evil fire. By the name of malignant, then, may be designated the number of the unfaithful, who, while they persist in the error of unbelief, in their malignity despise the good fire of spiritual grace. But the unjust are those who grow sluggish in good work. Near the Lord, therefore, the malignant shall not dwell, because so much then is the number of the unfaithful removed from the author of righteousness, as now it is disjoined from the righteousness of faith. The unjust likewise cannot then remain before his eyes, because now, that is, in the works of darkness, they do not fear to persist. Further, concerning the reprobate it is added:

Thou hatest all that work iniquity, thou wilt destroy all that speak a lie. Thou wilt destroy all who not only do what thou hatest, but also speak a lie, feigning a false righteousness, and not confessing their sins in repentance. But thou wilt not destroy, if, repenting, they speak the truth, so that by doing this truth, they may come to the light. By those working iniquity are designated those who not only do not do good things, but also live perversely. Whom almighty God hates, that is, shows worthy of his hatred, and because he does not recognize them in the rule of his righteousness, having driven them away from his love, he punishes them forever. But by those speaking a lie may not unfittingly be understood heretics, who by their falsehood attempt to destroy the truth of the faith: whom the strict judge will destroy along with the reprobate. Because just as those are condemned for their wicked deeds, so these too are to be condemned for their wicked speech.

Or it may be expounded in this way: Thou wilt destroy all that speak a lie: that is, contrary to the truth: because departing from that which is, they decline to that which is not. Whence the Apostle says, He who says he abides in Christ, and does not keep his commandments, is a liar. There are two kinds of lies, in which there is no great fault, yet they are not without fault: When we either jest, or lie in order to do good. The first, in jesting, is not pernicious, because it does not deceive. For he to whom it is said knows that it was said for the sake of jest. The second, however, is the milder for this reason, that it retains some benevolence. But that which intends to deceive is the lie which kills the soul: as it is written, The mouth that lies kills the soul. But now there is a change of person, when it is added, The Lord will abhor the bloody and deceitful man.

Indeed it is the custom of the prophets frequently to change persons: so that now they speak to God, now to men, now as the head, now as the members. For they speak to God, as to him from whom they receive what they prophesy. They speak to men, as to those to whom they prophesy. And now they change their voice from the head to the members, now from the members to the head: in which they intimate to us the unity of the head and the members. By the bloody man are designated the persecutors of the holy Martyrs. But the deceitful are those who desire to deceive faithful souls with seductive words, whom the Lord will abhor, that is, will separate from the inheritance of the elect. Because, therefore, those are to be condemned by their own evil deserts, but the Church is to be saved through the Lord's mercy: it is well added,

But I, in the multitude of thy mercy, will enter into thy house, I will worship toward thy holy temple in thy fear. The house of God is holy Church herself, who, destined to reign in heaven, still labors on earth: who is built up from the faithful, as from living stones: to whom Peter says, And you also, as living stones, are built up (1 Peter 2). And Paul says, You are God's husbandry, God's building. Whoever, in holy Church, imitates the manners of the saints, enters into the edifice of this heavenly house. To enter this spiritual edifice is to behold how holy men advance in love. But because no one is able to do this by his own strength, therefore it is rightly said, In the multitude of thy mercy. Great indeed is the mercy of God, because (as Paul says) Where sin abounded, grace did more abound. In his mercy the merciful Lord frees us from sins, but in more abundant mercy he grants us also the gifts of spiritual grace.

In his mercy he snatched us from eternal punishments, but in the multitude of his mercy he has led us back also to the house of the heavenly homeland. Who can weigh the bowels of divine mercy, which, that it might restore life to us, willed to become man, and to undergo death? Let it be said, then: But I, in the multitude of thy mercy, will enter into thy house. Holy Church is therefore called a house, because she is inhabited by the almighty Lord. She is therefore called a temple, because she is consecrated by the Lord himself. Or she is called a temple for this reason, because in her praises are continually rendered to the heavenly Lord. He says therefore, I will worship toward thy holy temple in fear. Because it is not said "in the temple," but "toward the temple," it must be understood as spoken not of perfection, but of progress toward perfection. And perhaps he added for this reason, "in thy fear": because the fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom.

He who fears the Lord will do good. And in another psalm it is said, Blessed is the man that feareth the Lord: he shall delight exceedingly in his commandments. And again, Serve ye the Lord with fear. And because he is not able to do this by his own strength, he adds,

Lord, lead me forth in thy justice, because of my enemies: make my way straight in thy sight. My enemies wish to seduce me, and lead me astray into injustice: do thou, Lord, who art my creator, be my guide. For thou hast made us, and not we ourselves. Do thou govern us, and not we ourselves. Now after he said, Lead me forth in justice, he not without reason added, "Thy": as if he were openly saying, "Given through thyself." For through the holy prophets and his servants, according to the distribution of the times, he gave lesser precepts to a people who still needed to be bound by fear: through his Son, greater precepts to a people whom it was now fitting to set free by charity.

Nor is it strange that greater precepts are given for the sake of the kingdom of heaven, and lesser ones were given for the sake of the earthly kingdom, by the same living God who made heaven and earth, who alone knows how to apply to mankind a medicine suited to its times. Of this justice of his he warns us in the Gospel, saying, Unless your justice abound more than that of the Scribes and Pharisees. That is, unless you not only fulfill those lesser precepts of the law, which begin to form men, but also those which are added by me (who came not to destroy the law, but to fulfill it), you shall not enter into the kingdom of heaven. Let us hear the lesser justice. You have heard (he says) that it was said, An eye for an eye, a tooth for a tooth. Let us hear the greater. But I say to you, not to resist evil.

The lesser justice is not to exceed measure in vengeance, that no one repay more than he received, and this is a great step. For no one is found who, having received a blow, would wish to return only a blow of equal force: and having heard one insulting word from a reviler, would be content to return one, if he could give back just as much. But either, disturbed by anger, he takes vengeance immoderately: or because he thinks it just that he who first injured should be injured more gravely than he who did not injure was injured. Such a spirit the law restrained to a great extent, in which it is said, An eye for an eye, and so on. By these terms a measure is signified, so that vengeance may not exceed the injury: and this is the beginning of peace. But perfect peace is to wish for no such vengeance at all.

Between, then, that first state, which is beyond the law, that a greater evil be returned for a lesser evil: and this which the Lord says to disciples being brought to perfection, that evil should not be resisted: a middle place is held, that only as much be returned as was received: through which, according to the distribution of the times, a passage was made from the height of discord to the height of concord. But it still seems too little to the Lord, if for the evil you have received you repay no evil, unless you are also ready to receive more. This is what he consequently expounds, If any man strike thee on thy right cheek, turn to him also the other. But what is this, that the Lord himself, who first fulfilled the precepts which he taught, did not offer the other cheek to the servant of the priest who struck him on the cheek: but instead said, If I have spoken evil, give testimony of the evil: but if well, why strikest thou me?

Unless this precept is to be understood as pertaining to the preparation of the heart, not to the display of the deed? Whence elsewhere the holy man says: My heart is ready, O God. Let it be said, then, Lord, lead me forth in thy justice because of my enemies. Whose way of justice he asks for, when he adds, Make my way straight in thy sight. Justice is one thing, the way is another. For justice is the teaching of Christ, the way is Christ himself. He shows justice by preaching, the way by working. Whence it is written, What Jesus began to do and to teach. For right action is not virtue itself, but the way of virtue. For by action one comes to virtue. For faith, which worketh by charity, obtains grace. And the grace of God poured out in our hearts through the Holy Spirit who is given to us, fulfills justice. I (says the Lord) am the way, the truth, and the life.

Understand the way as Christ working: the truth, as Christ teaching: the life, as Christ rewarding. The way leads to the truth, because through the way one comes to the teaching: but the teaching of the truth leads to life, because when what is commanded is fulfilled, the life that is promised is acquired. But well does he say, "Because of my enemies." For holy Church suffers many adversaries in the way of God, who press upon her by persecuting, terrifying, flattering, seducing: because how far they are discordant from the way of truth is shown from the words which follow.

For there is no truth in their mouth. And he confirms this, when he adds: Their heart is vain. For how can there be truth in the mouth, if there is vanity in the heart? The good man out of the good treasure of his heart brings forth good things, and the evil man out of the evil treasure of his heart brings forth evil things. For out of the abundance of the heart the mouth speaketh: concerning whom it is rightly further added,

Their throat is an open sepulchre, they dealt deceitfully with their tongues: judge them, O God. Flatterers and seducers are rightly called open sepulchres, who, not possessing the life of truth, are in a certain manner lifeless, and receive the dead into themselves, whom they turn into themselves, slain by lying words and a vain heart. What he said, "with their tongues," signifies evil tongues. For evil men have evil tongues. But to deal deceitfully is to have one thing in the heart, another in the mouth. Whence in another psalm it is said, Who speak peace with their neighbor, but evils are in their hearts. Almighty God judges them, because he condemns all false, deceitful enemies at the last examination: concerning whom it is further added: Let them fall from their thoughts, according to the multitude of their wickednesses cast them out. This is prophecy, not malediction. For he does not wish that it should come, but foretells what he foresees will happen.

They fall from their thoughts, because whatever they proudly thought, when they perish, they lose without fruit. For pride has a fall, just as, on the contrary, humility has exaltation. It is said elsewhere, In that day all their thoughts shall perish. Which surely would not perish, if they thought heavenly things. For the same Psalmist testifies, For there are remnants for the peaceable man. But the unjust shall perish together: the remnants of the wicked shall perish. The thoughts of the wicked, then, shall perish, because they never find eternal evils which they thought of; and suddenly they lose the temporal goods which they long pondered in mind. They who are cast out according to the multitude of their impieties, because on account of the many evils they have done, they shall be cast out both from the eternal inheritance, and cast into outer darkness. But it is rightly added: Because they have provoked thee, O Lord. For it is not because they sinned that they would perish, unless by persevering in evil they provoked the Lord.

For heavenly mercy, after we have sinned, calls us back to penitence, and waits long. For he does not wish the death of the sinner, but that he be converted and live. But if he neglects to be converted, and spends the time of grace in the increase of guilt, then him whom he ought to have appeased by repenting, by provoking further, that is, by provoking to wrath, he gravely offends. Whence Paul says: But according to thy hardness and impenitent heart, thou treasurest up to thyself wrath, against the day of wrath and revelation of the just judgment of God. For the stricter Judge will condemn him then all the more severely, the more mercifully he waits for him now. But what will become of the just? He continues and says:

And let all them be glad that hope in thee. The first joy of the just is indeed in hope: whence it is said, Rejoicing in hope. For we are saved by hope. But afterwards it will be in reality. Whence he goes on here and adds, They shall rejoice for ever, and thou shalt dwell in them. This will be the eternal exultation, when the just shall become the temple of God, and their inhabitant himself shall be their joy.

And in thee shall glory all they that love thy name. And well, "in thee", as though all possessing thee as their inheritance. For thou wilt bless the just. This is the blessing, to glory in God, and to be inhabited by God. And because the calling is not of our merits, but of the benevolence and mercy of God: he adds, saying:

Lord, thou hast crowned us, as with a shield of thy good will. For the good will of God precedes our good will, calling the sinner to penitence. And this good will itself is the most invincible shield, by which the enemy is repelled, who suggests despair of salvation through the multitude of tribulations and temptations. For it is God who worketh in us both to will and to accomplish, according to his good will. For not by the works of justice which we have done, but according to his own mercy, he hath saved us.

The sixth Psalm is entitled thus, A Psalm of David for the octave: By the octave is understood the day of judgment: since all times revolve in the repetition of seven days: and what happens in one may be changed in another. But that eighth day is to be reckoned as one which will not have this variability. And what will happen on it will remain eternal and unchangeable. Now the voice in this psalm is that of a faithful penitent, exhorting others by his own example to repent likewise, lest on the octave, that is, on the last day of judgment, they incur eternal damnation.

Lord, rebuke me not in thy fury, neither chastise me in thy wrath. God, who is of unchangeable nature, with whom (as the Apostle says) there is no change, nor shadow of alteration: of whom it is said, But thou, Lord of powers, judgest with tranquility: admits in himself no disturbance of fury or of wrath: but by the name of fury is understood that immense and immoderate visitation of vengeance, by which sinners shall be punished at the last examination. But wrath can be understood as that examination by which imperfect souls are cleansed in the purgatorial fire. And it is well said, Rebuke me not in thy fury, neither chastise me in thy wrath: for “chastise,” which seems milder, avails for correction: but he who is “rebuked,” that is, accused, must fear lest he have damnation as his end. All are rebuked in the day of judgment who do not have Christ as their foundation. But those are corrected, that is, purged, who build upon this foundation wood, hay, stubble, that is, fruitless, vain, useless things.

They shall indeed suffer loss, but nevertheless they shall be saved: yet so as by fire. What then does this man ask, who does not wish to be rebuked by the Lord's fury, or corrected by his wrath? What, but that he be healed? For where there is health, neither death is to be feared, nor the hand of the physician who heals or cuts. He continues, therefore, and says:

Have mercy on me, Lord, for I am weak. Many are the infirmities of our body and soul. For the body is corrupted by mortality, the soul is oppressed by temptations. Unhappy man is wearied by many temptations and miseries. He who feels misery, then, what ought he to ask so much as mercy? He who feels infirmity, what ought he to desire so much as health? It remains, then, that he say: Heal me, Lord, for my bones are troubled. What is meant by "bones" but the strong parts of the soul? For lest you should understand the bones of the flesh, he explained it, when he adds:

And my soul is troubled exceedingly. Indeed the inner senses are troubled by consideration of one's own guilt; even the weak and sinning soul itself, when in thinking it beholds the subtlety of the final examination, being stripped of all inner strength, trembles within itself. For it sees there that whatever evil deed, or idle word, or silence is found—even down to the least thought—is condemned, if it has not been directed to the will of God. On this side burns conscience, on that side accuse the sins, from another quarter terrifies justice: below lies open the horrid chaos of hell and horrible tormentors: above, the angry judge; outside, the burning world. The just man shall scarcely be saved, where shall the sinner appear (1 Peter 4)? Let him lament again and groan, lest he incur such torments. Does he fear justice? Let him seek mercy. Has he no strength? Let him at least acknowledge his own weakness, and say: Have mercy on me, Lord, for I am weak, and so forth.

For it is a great approach to God, to know one's own unhappiness. But he complains of the slowness of healing, when he adds, And thou, O Lord, how long? Behold the great day of the Lord is near, near and exceeding swift, the day of wrath, that day, a day of calamity and misery, a day of darkness and gloom, a day of trumpet and clangor. O bitter voice of the day of the Lord! Behold the sinning soul, a fruitless tree, worthy of the axe and the fire: dry and useless wood. Fear troubles the guilty one, conscience confounds, thoughts rebuke, flight is not allowed. He stands suspended awaiting the gravest sentence. Behold the wretch in narrow peril, needing swift help, And thou, O Lord, how long dost thou delay? How long dost thou not hear? Nor in this is God to be esteemed as cruel: but as one who kindly persuades the soul what evil it has brought upon itself.

For the pious Lord often delays hearing, out of his great mercy, so that, from the difficulty of healing, there may be more careful watch over the health received. For what is healed easily is not much guarded against. He delays sometimes, that it may be known how great a punishment is prepared for the impious, who refuse to turn to God, if those who do turn suffer such difficulty: as it is written elsewhere, if the just man shall scarcely be saved, where shall the sinner and the impious appear (1 Peter 4)? And because he delays, he therefore adds:

Turn, O Lord, and deliver my soul: save me for thy mercy's sake. Turning himself, he prays that God also may turn toward him: as he himself promises, Turn to me, and I will return to you. But perhaps it is better understood, Turn, O Lord, that is, make me be turned. For he feels difficulty in his very conversion. For our perfect conversion always finds God ready, as the prophet Hosea says: His going forth is prepared as the dawn: because it was not by his absence, who is everywhere, that we lost him, but by our own turning away. But while we are being converted, that is, while we are being reshaped by the change of our old life, we feel our spirit hard and laborious, being twisted back from the darkness of earthly desires to the serenity of the divine light. And in such difficulty we say, Turn, O Lord, that is, help us, that conversion may be perfected in us, which finds thee ready, and offers thee to be enjoyed by those who love thee.

And therefore after he said, Turn, O Lord: he added, And deliver my soul: as one clinging to the entanglements of this age, and suffering certain thorns of tearing desires even in the very act of conversion. Save me (he says) for thy mercy's sake. He understands that it is not of his own merits that he is healed: since indeed, for one who sins and transgresses the commandment given, a just damnation was owed. Heal me, therefore, he says: not for my merit, but for thy mercy.

For there is no one in death that is mindful of thee. He also understands that now is the time of conversion: since when this life has passed, nothing remains but the retribution of merits. But in hell who shall confess to thee? Yet that rich man confessed in hell, of whom the Lord speaks, who saw Lazarus at rest, while he himself was grieving in torments, confessing so far that he even wished his own to be warned, that they might restrain themselves from sins, on account of the punishments which they do not believe exist among the dead. What then is meant by, But in hell who shall confess to thee? Is it to be understood as that hell into which, after judgment, the impious are cast headlong, where, because of the deeper darkness, they shall no longer see any light of God, to whom they might confess anything?

It can also be understood thus: that he calls death the sin which, the divine law being despised, is committed: and hell the blindness of mind, which receives and enwraps the sinner, that is, the one dying. As it is said, Since they did not approve of having God in their knowledge, he gave them up to a reprobate sense. From this death and from this hell the soul begs to be made safe, while it strives toward conversion to God, and suffers the difficulty.

Wherefore he continues, saying: I have labored in my groaning. And as though it profited little, he adds and says, Every night I will wash my bed. The "bed" is here so called, where the sick and weak soul rests, that is, in the pleasure of the body and worldly delight. Which delight he washes with tears, who strives to draw himself out of it. For he sees that he already condemns the carnal concupiscences, and yet the infirmity is held by delight, and lies willingly in it: whence the mind cannot rise unless healed.

But what he says, Every night: this perhaps he meant to signify, that he who is prompt in spirit and perceives some light of truth, and yet through the weakness of the flesh sometimes rests in the delight of this world, is compelled, as it were, to suffer by alternating feeling, as if by day and night, so that when he says, With my mind I serve the law of God, he may feel it as day: again when he says, But with the flesh, the law of sin, he is inclined toward night, until all night passes, and there comes that one day of which it is said: In the morning I will stand before thee and will see. For then he will stand; but now he lies down, when he is in bed: which he shall wash every night, that by such tears he may obtain the most efficacious discipline of God's mercy. With my tears I will water my couch.

By "couch" we understand what before was "bed." But to water is more than to wash: since something can be washed only on the surface; but watering permeates to the inward parts: which signifies weeping reaching to the very depths of the heart. But the variation of tenses—that he put the past, when he said, I have labored in my groaning, and the future, when he said, with my tears I will water my couch—shows what each one ought to say to himself, when he has labored in vain in groaning: as though he said, It did not profit, when I did this; therefore I will do that.

Whence also follows: My eye is troubled from fury. Whose fury—his own, or God's, concerning which he asked not to be rebuked? But if that fury signifies the day of judgment, how can it now be understood? Or is this the beginning of it, that here men suffer sorrows and torments, and especially the loss of understanding the truth: as I have already recalled, that it was said, God gave them up to a reprobate sense? For that is the blindness of mind. Whoever has been given over to it is shut off from the inner light of God: but not yet fully, while he is in this life. For there are outer darknesses, which are understood to belong more to the day of judgment: so that he is utterly outside God, whoever, while there was time, refused to be corrected: but to be utterly outside God—what is this but to be in the utmost blindness?

Since God dwells in unapproachable light, into which those enter to whom it is said, Enter into the joy of thy Lord. The beginning, then, of this wrath is the blindness of mind, which every sinner suffers in this life. Fearing, therefore, the day of judgment, he labors and laments, lest he be brought to that state whose beginning, so pernicious, he now experiences. And therefore he does not say it is extinguished, but, my eye is troubled from fury. It can also be understood that by the name "fury" is meant the immense fervor of mind, with which the penitent is wont to be angry at himself. Whence it is written, Be angry, and sin not. And it is well said, not "extinguished," but "troubled," the eye: for the fury which comes through hatred blinds the eye of the mind; but the fury which comes through zeal does not blind, but troubles. But whence it is troubled for a time by the grief of penitence, thence afterward it is the better illumined by the consolation of grace.

But having considered his remaining vices, he finds himself surrounded by all of them. And since these vices belong to the old life, and to the old man, whom we must put off, that we may be clothed with the new: it is rightly said: I have grown old among all my enemies. Either among the vices themselves, or among men who refuse to be converted to God. For even these, even if they do not rage, even if they spare, even if in the same feasts and houses and cities, with no quarrel interposed, but by frequent conversations they seem to live as it were in concord: nevertheless, by the contrary intention, they are enemies to those who convert themselves to God. For since some love and seek after this world, others desire to be freed from this world: who does not see that the former are enemies to the latter? For if they could, they would drag them with themselves to punishment.

And it is a great gift to converse daily amid their words, and yet not depart from the way of God's commandments. For often the mind, striving to go toward God, being shaken in the very journey, trembles, and frequently does not therefore fulfill its good purpose, lest it offend those (with whom it lives) who love and pursue other goods that are perishing and passing away. From these every healthy soul is separated, not in place, but in mind. For bodies are contained by places, but for the mind, its own affection is its place.

Wherefore, after labor and groaning and most frequent showers of tears, since that cannot be in vain which is so earnestly asked of him who is the fount of all mercies: and it has been most truly said, the Lord is near to the crushed, or to the contrite in heart (. And 51.): after such great difficulties the soul itself signifies that it has been heard, which soul, though one may also understand it as the Church, see what she adds: Depart from me, all ye that work iniquity, for the Lord hath heard the voice of my weeping. Or it is said in prophecy, that they are about to depart, that is, the wicked shall be separated from the just when the day of judgment shall have come: or now, because even though they are contained together in the same assemblies, yet on the bare threshing-floor the grains are already separated from the chaff, although they lie hidden among the chaff.

Thus they can be together at the same time, but they cannot be carried off together by the wind at the same time.

For the Lord hath heard the voice of my weeping. The Lord hath heard my supplication; the Lord hath received my prayer. The frequent repetition of the same sentiment shows not, as it were, the necessity of one narrating, but the affection of one exulting. For thus those who rejoice are wont to speak, that it does not suffice them to declare once that they rejoice. This is the fruit of that groaning, in which one labors; and that joy of tears, by which the bed is washed and the couch is watered. For he who sows in tears shall reap in joy. And blessed are they that mourn, for they shall be comforted.

Let all mine enemies be ashamed, and be sore troubled. Depart from me, he said above, which can also happen in this life, as has been explained. But as to what he says, Let them be ashamed and be troubled: I do not see how it can come to pass, except on that day, when the rewards of the just and the punishments of sinners shall be manifest. For now the wicked are so far from being ashamed, that they do not cease to insult us: and often their mockeries have such power that they make weak men ashamed of the name of Christ. Whence it is said, Whosoever shall be ashamed of me and my words before men, of him shall the Son of man be ashamed before the angels and the Father. But the time will come when they shall be ashamed, saying: These are they whom we once held in derision, and as a byword of reproach. We fools esteemed their life madness, and their end without honor.

Behold how they are numbered among the sons of God, and their lot is among the saints! Therefore we have erred from the way of truth, and the light of justice hath not shined unto us. But as to what he says, Let them be turned back and be ashamed, who would not judge it to be a most just punishment, that those who would not have conversion unto salvation should have it unto confusion? Then he added, Very speedily. For when men shall have already begun to despair of the day of judgment, when they shall say, Peace and safety: then sudden destruction shall come upon them. Whenever it shall come, it shall come most swiftly, because it is despaired of as coming at all.

Although this too can be understood here, that she whom God heard groaning, and weeping so often and so long, may be understood as freed from sins, and as having tamed all the perverse motions of carnal affection, as she says: Depart from me, all ye that work iniquity, for the Lord hath heard the voice of my weeping. When this has come to pass for her, it would be wonderful if she is already so perfect that she prays for her enemies. It can, therefore, pertain to this, what she said, Let all mine enemies be ashamed, and be sore troubled: that they may do penance for their sins: which cannot be done without confusion and trouble. Nothing, therefore, prevents this too from being understood in the same way, what follows, Let them be converted and be ashamed, that is, let them be converted to God: and let them be ashamed, who once gloried in the former darkness of their sins, as the Apostle says, For what fruit had ye then in those things whereof ye are now ashamed.

But as to what he added, very speedily, it must be referred either to the affection of one desiring, or to the power of Christ: by which he converted the nations, who persecuted the Church on behalf of their idols, to the faith of the Gospel with such swiftness of time.

The seventh Psalm is thus entitled, Unto the end, a Psalm of David, which he sang to the Lord for the words of Chusi the son of Jemini. Here we are sent back to that history in the second Book of Kings: where Chusi, David's friend, passed over into the party of Absalom his son, in order to explore the counsels being contrived against the father under the guidance of Achitophel, who had defected from friendship with David, and was instructing his son with counsels against his father, by whatever means he could.

Spiritually for us Chusi is interpreted silence; Jemini, however, the right hand; Achitophel, the ruin of a brother: By Chusi, which is interpreted silence, it is rightly understood that our Lord fought against those wiles with silence, by which silence, concealing the sacrament of his venerable passion, he turned the voluntary ruin of a brother, that is, the nefarious crime of his betrayer, into an ordinance of his own mercy and prudence: so that what the other did with a perverse mind unto the destruction of one man, this one might transfer, by provident governance, unto the salvation of all. Therefore the perfect soul sings a psalm to the Lord, which is now worthy to know the secret of God for the words of Chusi, that is, for the knowledge of that same secret, which secret the right-handed God, that is, favoring and propitious, wrought for it.

Now the intention of this perfect catholic is to exhort every faithful person to place their hope in the Lord and so to live perfectly, that they may be able to await the day of judgment without fear, proposing himself as an example, and speaking thus;

O Lord, my God, in thee have I put my trust; save me from all them that persecute me, and deliver me. By these words the faith and hope of this perfect soul are commended to us: as if she said, I believe thee to be the true God and Lord, namely the creator and ruler of all things. And therefore I have made thee my own in a special way, no longer presuming on myself, but hoping in thee: for Blessed is the man that hopeth in thee. It is mine to hope in thee, it is thine to save and deliver me. Therefore, as if no unclean spirit any longer resisted one now perfect, all war and adversity of vices having been overcome, she says: Save me from all them that persecute me, and deliver me. Save me from those who persecute from behind: and deliver me from those who meet me face to face. For it does not suffice me, that with thee defending, I should be safe: unless with thee also delivering, I should be secure.

Then from the plural number she returns to the singular, when she adds, Lest at any time he seize my soul like a lion, while there is none to redeem, nor any to save. For evil spirits are many in nature, but one in malice. They are many in number, but there is one will of harming in them all. But that ancient enemy, on account of his cruelty, she designates by the name of a lion, agreeing with the Apostle who says, Your adversary the devil, as a roaring lion, goeth about, seeking whom he may devour. But how shall human frailty be able to resist so strong and cruel an enemy, unless he who created it should redeem and save it? And therefore she says, While there is none to redeem, nor any to save: understand, unless thou redeem and save. It is of great benefit for the servant of God to recognize his own weakness, and to have no confidence in his own strength or merits.

For then divine virtue begins to be present, when human presumption begins to fail. Hence to Paul it is said in the voice of God: My grace is sufficient for thee, for virtue is made perfect in weakness: hence Truth says, He that would come after me, let him deny himself. Such was that same Apostle, when he said, By the grace of God I am what I am. Therefore, hoping in the Lord his God, and not presuming on his own strength, and therefore imploring supernal salvation, let us hear what manner of holy man he was. Again he invokes the Lord his God, as if giving him thanks, and ascribing to his name the good which he received from him, he adds:

O Lord my God, if I have done this thing. What? If there be iniquity in my hands. That is, if I have presented my members as weapons of iniquity unto sin: if I have not been innocent in my hands, and, what is more perfect,

If I have repaid evil to them that repaid me evil. That is, if I have not been patient against evil men. Let me deservedly fall down empty before mine enemies. That is, deservedly through my negligence, with my enemies pursuing, let me fall empty of the fruit of justice. For it is just that whoever does not fortify himself against his enemies with the weapons of the virtues and of good works should fall, conquered by them. And well he does not say, if I have repaid evil to them that do evil; but to them that repaid me evil. For he who repays has already received something. But it is of greater patience not even to repay evil to one who returns evil for good after receiving benefits, than if one had wished to harm another without having received any benefit before. But he boasts in vain, who, though he himself is a man, desires to avenge himself upon a man, and openly seeks to overcome that man, is secretly overcome by the devil.

His triumph is rendered vain, a vain and proud joy, that he could not, as it were, be conquered. He understands, therefore, where the greater victory occurs, and where the Father, who sees in secret, repays. Lest, therefore, he repay evil to those who repay it, let him conquer wrath rather than man. For better is he that overcometh his anger, than he that taketh a city (. According to the LXX. Now he seems to swear by an imprecation, when he says, Let me deservedly fall down empty before mine enemies. Which is the gravest kind of oath, when a man says: If I have done that, may I suffer this. But an oath is one thing in the mouth of one swearing, another in the signification of one prophesying. For here he says what justly befalls men who repay evil to those who repay it: not that he calls it down upon himself or upon anyone, as if by an oath, and therefore he adds:

Let the enemy pursue my soul, and take it. Again naming the enemy in the singular number, he makes more and more manifest what above he called, as it were, a lion. For he pursues the soul. For men rage only unto the destruction of the body, but they cannot have the soul in their power: but the devil, whatever souls he has pursued, that he may possess them, he seizes them if he can: and when he possesses them, he tramples upon them, and therefore he adds, And tread down my life on the earth. That is, by treading down the earth, may he make my life, namely, his own food. For he is called not only a lion, but also a serpent: to whom it was said, Thou shalt eat the earth. And to sinful man it was said, Thou art earth, and unto earth thou shalt go. Rightly, therefore, it follows, And bring down my glory to the dust.

This is that dust, which the wind casteth away from the face of the earth, namely the vain and foolish boasting of the proud, inflated and unsolidified, like a ball of dust lifted by the wind. Rightly, therefore, he has placed here the glory which he does not wish to be brought down to the dust. For he wishes to have it solid in the conscience, where before the Lord there is no boasting. He that glorieth (he says) let him glory in the Lord. This solidity is brought down to dust, if anyone, through pride, despising the secrets of conscience, where God alone tests man, should wish to glory before man. Hence it is that elsewhere he says, God will break the bones of them that please men. But he who has learned well, or has experienced the steps of overcoming vices, understands that this vice of vainglory alone, or especially, must be guarded against by the perfect. For the vice by which the soul first fell, this it overcomes last. But the beginning of all sin is pride.

Then he prays against the devil and his angels, whose possession are sinners and impious men, saying: Arise, O Lord, in thy wrath, and be thou exalted in the borders of my enemies. He says Arise, that is, appear, using human words, as if God were sleeping, since he lies hidden and unknown in his secret places. But when the impious man is justified, he becomes just from being impious, and passes from the possession of the devil into the temple of God. And since it is a punishment that a possession should be taken away from anyone in whom he desires to rule, he calls this punishment the wrath of God against the devil, that he may cease to possess those whom he possesses. And he called the possession itself “the border,” where he wishes God to be exalted rather than the devil, that is, honored and glorified, while the impious are justified and praise God.

As it were in his wrath the Lord seemed to arise, when rising from the dead he sought the bars of hell, and broke its gates, and despoiled it of the just whom it held captive. He was also exalted in the borders of his enemies, when he ascended into heaven, and his glorious and praiseworthy name shone forth, proclaimed even to the ends of the earth. Whence it is added: And arise, O Lord my God, in the precept which thou hast commanded: and the synagogue of the people shall surround thee. Thou hast given a precept to thy apostles. Thou hast said, Preach the Gospel to every creature. Arise, then. In those to whom thy precept has been preached. Make them arise through thyself, that rising from their iniquities they may fulfill thy precept. Or otherwise: Arise, O Lord my God, in the precept which thou hast commanded: thou hast commanded humility, appear humble. And thou art truly for justice.

First fulfill what thou hast commanded, that by thy example, overcoming pride, they may not be possessed by the devil.

And the synagogue of the people shall surround thee. There is a twofold understanding. For the congregation of peoples, whether of believers or of persecutors, can be understood: both of which were brought about by that humility of our Lord, which the multitude of persecutors, despising, surrounded him; of which it is said: The kings of the earth stood up, and the princes met together against the Lord and against his Christ. But the multitude of believers surrounded him through his humility, so that it might most truly be said: Blindness in part has happened in Israel, until the fullness of the Gentiles should come in. And that: Ask of me, and I will give thee the Gentiles for thy inheritance, and the utmost parts of the earth for thy possession. And on account of this congregation, return on high. That is, and on account of this congregation, return on high: which is understood to have been done by rising again and ascending on high.

For thus glorified he gave the Holy Spirit, who could not be given before his glorification, as it is set down in the Gospel: But the Spirit had not yet been given, because Jesus was not yet glorified. Having returned on high, then, on account of the congregation of the peoples, he sent the Holy Spirit, filled with whom the preachers of the Gospel filled the whole world with Churches.

And because he is to come from thence to judge the living and the dead, it is rightly added: The Lord judges the peoples. Who is the Lord, but Jesus Christ? For the Father judges no one, but has given all judgment to the Son. But see how this soul, which prays perfectly, does not fear the day of judgment, and truly says with secure desire in prayer, Thy kingdom come. Judge me (he says), O Lord, according to my justice. In the preceding psalm the sick man was praying, imploring rather the mercy of God, than recalling any merit of his own. Since the Son of God came to call sinners to repentance, he therefore said there, Save me for thy mercy's sake, that is, not for my merit. But now, since being called he has kept and observed the precepts which he received, he dares to say, Judge me according to my justice, and according to my innocence upon me. That is true innocence, which does no harm even to an enemy.

And so he asks to be judged well according to innocence, who could truly say: If I have rendered to them that repaid me evils. But what he adds, "upon me," can be understood not only of innocence but also of justice, so that the sense is: Judge me, O Lord, according to my justice, and according to my innocence, which justice and innocence are upon me. By this addition he shows that the very fact that the soul is just and innocent, it does not have of itself, but through the Lord who enlightens and illumines it. Whence James says, every best gift and every perfect gift is from above, coming down from the Father of lights. For he is the true light, which enlightens every man coming into this world.

Then he adds concerning sinners, Let the wickedness of sinners be brought to an end. It seems that the wickedness was Brought to an end in the men who crucified the Son of God: but GREATER is theirs, who are unwilling to live rightly and hate the precepts of the truth, for which the Son of God was crucified. Let the wickedness of sinners, then, be brought to an end, he says: that is, let it come to its height of wickedness, so that a just judgment may now be able to come. But since it is said not only, Let him that is filthy be filthy still, but also, Let the just be more just still: he joins to it and says, And thou shalt direct the just, searching the hearts and reins, O God. How can the just be directed, unless in secret? When at the beginning of Christian times the saints were oppressed by persecutors, the saints who could suffer such things for the name of Jesus Christ seemed marvelous to men, and seemed to be directed.

Now, after the Christian name has come to be at such a height, hypocrisy has increased, that is, dissimulation, of those namely who under the Christian name prefer to please men rather than God. How, then, is the just man directed amid such confusion of pretense, unless when God searches the hearts and reins: all the thoughts, which are signified by the name of heart, and the delights which are understood by the name of reins? Rightly indeed is delight in temporal and earthly things attributed to this part, because it is itself the lower part of man, and that is the region where the pleasure of carnal generation dwells, through which human nature is transmitted by the succession of offspring into this toilsome life of deceptive gladness.

God, then, searching our heart, and seeing there where our treasure is, that is, in heaven: searching also the reins, and seeing that we do not acquiesce to flesh and blood, but delight in the Lord: directs the just man in his very conscience before himself, where no man sees, but only he who sees what each one thinks, what delights each one. For the end of care is delight: because each one strives by cares and thoughts in order to arrive at his delight. He therefore who searches the heart sees our cares: and he who searches the reins sees the end of our cares, that is, our delights: so that when he finds our cares inclined not to the concupiscence of the flesh, nor to the concupiscence of the eyes, nor to the ambition of the world (all of which pass away like a shadow), but lifted up to the joys of eternal things, which are varied by no change, God, searching the hearts and reins, directs the just.

For our works, which we perform in deeds and words, can be known to men: but with what mind they are done, and to what end through them we desire to arrive, only he knows, who, God, searches the hearts and reins.

And because this just man had this direction of the heart through the Lord, he rightly adds: My just help is from the Lord, who saves the upright of heart. There are two offices of medicine: one by which infirmity is healed, another by which health is preserved. According to the first it was said in the preceding psalm, Have mercy on me, O Lord, for I am weak. According to this other, it is said in this psalm, If there be iniquity in my hands, if I have rendered to them that repaid me evils, let me deservedly fall empty before my enemies. For there, being sick, he prays to be delivered; here, already healthy, he prays not to be corrupted. According to the former it is said there, Save me, O Lord, according to thy mercy. According to the latter it is said here, Judge me, O Lord, according to my justice. For there he seeks a remedy, that he may escape from the disease: but here he seeks protection, lest he fall back into disease.

According to the former it is said, Save me for thy mercy's sake. According to the latter it is said, My just help is from the Lord, who saves the upright of heart. And indeed both the one and the other save. But the former transfers from sickness to health, the latter preserves in that very health. There, therefore, the help is merciful, because the sinner who still desires to be justified has no merit, believing in him who justifies the impious. But here the help is just, because it is now bestowed upon one who is just. Let the sinner, then, say there, who said: I am weak, save me, O Lord, according to thy mercy: and let the just man say here, who said, If I have rendered to them that repaid me evils: My just help is from the Lord, who saves the upright of heart. For if he shows forth the medicine by which we, being sick, are healed, how much more now that by which we, being healthy, are preserved?

For if, when we were sinners, Christ died for us, how much more now, being justified, shall we be saved from wrath through him? My just help is from the Lord, who saves the upright of heart.

Then, that we may be zealous to be converted to the Lord, and to be upright of heart, he commends to us His patience, and threatens judgment, adding: God is a just judge, strong and patient; doth he not become angry every day? Who is God the judge, but the Lord, who judges the peoples? He is just, who will render to each according to his works. He Himself is strong, who, though most powerful, endured even His impious persecutors for our salvation. He Himself is patient, who did not immediately after the resurrection hasten even those who had persecuted Him to punishment, but bore with them, that at some time they might turn from that impiety to salvation; and He still bears with them, reserving the final penalty for the last judgment, and even now inviting sinners to repentance, not becoming angry every day, nor gathering His ministers for vengeance.

For now the patience of God invites to repentance; but in the last time, when men, on account of the hardness of their heart, or of their mind, and their impenitent heart, shall have treasured up wrath for themselves against the day of wrath and revelation of the just judgment of God, He will show forth His wrath: whence it is also added:

13. Unless ye be converted, he will brandish his sword. It may be understood that the Lord's Man Himself is the sword of God, two-edged, that is, a blade, which He did not brandish at His first coming, but hid it, as it were, in the sheath of humility.

But He will brandish it when, coming at His second advent to judge the living and the dead, in the manifest splendor of His glory He shall flash light for His just ones and terrors for the impious, as in Matthew and Luke. For in other copies, instead of what is said, "he will brandish his sword," it is put, "he will make his blade to shine forth." By which word I think is most fittingly signified the last advent of the Lord's splendor. And because He has already confirmed this His judgment in His Scriptures, it is rightly added, He hath bent his bow, and made it ready. The tenses of the words are not to be passed over carelessly, in that He spoke of the sword in the future, "he will brandish," but of the bow in the past, "he hath bent." Then words in the past tense follow:

14. And in it he hath prepared the instruments of death: he hath wrought his arrows for them that burn.

This bow, then, I would gladly take to be the holy Scriptures: where by the strength of the New Testament, as by a certain string, the hardness of the Old was bent and subdued. Hence, as arrows, the Apostles are sent forth, or hurl forth divine proclamations. Which arrows he hath wrought for them that burn, that is, for those who, being struck, might burn with divine love. For by what other arrow was she struck, who says in the Canticles, I am wounded with love? By what other arrows is he set afire, who, desiring to return to God, and to come back from this pilgrimage, seeks help against deceitful tongues, and to whom it is said, What shall be given to thee, or what shall be added to thee, against a deceitful tongue?

The arrows of the mighty are sharp, with desolating coals: that is, arrows by which, being struck and inflamed, thou mayest burn with such love of the kingdom of heaven, that thou despisest the tongues of all who resist and would call thee back from your purpose, and thou dost mock their persecutions, saying: Who shall separate me from the love of Christ? Tribulation, or distress, or persecution, or famine, or nakedness, or peril, or the sword? For I am sure, he says, that neither death, nor life, nor angels, nor principalities, nor things present, nor things to come, nor power, nor height, nor depth, nor any other creature, shall be able to separate us from the love of God, which is in Christ Jesus our Lord. Thus hath he wrought his arrows for them that burn.

In the Greek copies it is found thus: "He hath wrought his arrows for them that burn"; but most of the Latin copies have "burning." But whether the arrows themselves burn, or make to burn (which indeed they cannot do, unless they themselves also burn), the sense remains whole. But since he says the Lord prepared in the bow not only arrows, but also instruments of death, it may be asked, what are the instruments of death? Perhaps heretics? For they too leap from the same bow, that is, from the same Scriptures, into souls, not to inflame them with love, but to destroy them with poison. Which does not happen except according to merits: wherefore this disposition also must be attributed to divine providence, not because it makes sinners, but because it orders them once they have sinned.

For by evil desire, reading through sin, they are wrongly compelled to understand wrongly: so that this itself is the punishment of sin: yet by the death of these the children of the catholic Church, as though roused from sleep by certain thorns, are stirred and make progress toward the understanding of the divine Scriptures. For it is necessary, he says, that there be also heresies, that they who are approved may be made manifest among you, that is, among men, since they are already manifest to God. Or perhaps he has disposed the same arrows and instruments of death for the destruction of the unfaithful, and has wrought them burning, or for burning, for the exercise of the faithful? For it is not false what the Apostle said, To some we are the odor of life unto life, to others the odor of death unto death. It is no wonder, then, if the same Apostles are both instruments of death to those by whom they suffered persecution, and fiery arrows to inflame the hearts of believers.

After this dispensation, then, just judgment will come, of which he speaks thus, that we may understand that punishment is inflicted upon each man for his own sin, and that his iniquity is turned into penalty: lest we think that that tranquility and ineffable light of God brings forth from itself that by which sins are punished, but that the sins themselves are so ordered, that what were delights to the sinning man become instruments to the punishing God. Behold (he says) he hath travailed with injustice. For what had he conceived, that he should travail with injustice? He hath conceived sorrow, he says, and brought forth iniquity. He did not bring forth what he conceived. For what is conceived is not what is born: but the seed is conceived, and what is formed from the seed is born. The seed that is conceived is an evil will; but the fruit that is born is a perverse action.

For first an evil will is born in the heart as a seed, but then from this seed an unjust operation, or, what is more, an iniquitous one, is generated as fruit. Injustice is that which disagrees with the rule of justice. Iniquity is that which opposes the rectitude of justice itself. The unjust man is he who does not keep the precepts of justice; the iniquitous man is he who offends the Lord by iniquitous works. Rightly it is not said, "he perpetrated iniquity," but "he brought forth": because, as in childbirth there is sorrow and anxious labor, so all the perverse labor and pant anxiously, that they may bring the evil which they have conceived in their heart to the completion of action. Rightly also it is not said, "he conceived an evil will," but "sorrow": because the evil will torments itself, and is itself its own punishment. For almighty God works by His right and wondrous judgment, that the soul which has sinned should itself punish itself for the very sin which it commits.

Whence it is rightly added: 16. He hath opened a pit, and dug it, and is fallen into the hole which he made. To open a pit is, in earthly matters, that is, as it were in the earth, to prepare a deceit, whereby another may fall, whom the more unjust one wishes to deceive. This pit is opened when consent is given to the evil suggestion of earthly desires. It is dug, moreover, when, after consent, the working of the deceit is pursued. But how can it happen that iniquity should injure the just man against whom it proceeds, before it injures the unjust heart from which it proceeds? Thus a defrauder of money (for example), while he desires to injure another with loss, is himself wounded by the wound of avarice. But who, unless demented, does not see how great a difference there is between these, since the one suffers loss of money, the other of innocence? He is fallen, then, into the hole which he made.

Which is said in another psalm, The Lord shall be known when he executeth judgments: the sinner is caught in the works of his own hands.

His sorrow shall be turned upon his own head, and his iniquity shall come down upon his own crown. For he himself did not wish to escape sin, but was made under sin as a slave: the Lord saying, Everyone who commits sin is a slave. His iniquity, then, will be over him, since he himself is subjected to his iniquity: because he could not say to the Lord what the innocent and the just say, My glory, and the lifter up of my head. So then he himself will be lower, so that his iniquity may be higher, and may come down upon him, which weighs him down and burdens him, and does not allow him to fly back to the rest of the saints. This happens when in a perverse man reason serves, and lust dominates.

And because this perfect one has now escaped these things, he praises God, and says: I will confess to the Lord according to his justice, and will sing to the name of the Lord most high. The confession of God's justice is that whereby we speak thus: Truly Thou art just, O God, since Thou dost so protect the just, that Thou dost illuminate them through Thyself, and dost so order sinners, that they are punished not by Thy malice, but by their own. Since, then, he sees that the merits of souls are so ordered by God, that while each receives his own, the beauty of the universe is violated in no part, he praises God in all things, and this is not the confession of sinners, but of the just: and lest we should understand it as a confession of sinners, he added at the end, And I will sing to the name of the Lord most high. Now to sing belongs to joy, but the penitence of sinners belongs to sadness.

Let us also confess to the Lord according to His justice, praising and glorifying Him, because He is just: and let us sing to the name of the Lord most high, by working rightly, living well, rejoicing spiritually: that there may be fulfilled in us what is said in another psalm, Let praise be pleasant to our God.

Titles are therefore set before books, that through them the author of the writing, and the matter, or the intention, may be declared. The title of this psalm is, Unto the end, a psalm of David, for the winepresses. Christ is our end, as the Apostle bears witness, who says, Christ is the end of the law unto justice to every one that believeth. Toward Him we tend: beyond Him there is nothing to which we ought to tend. For He is the highest good, the highest blessedness, the true eternity. Into a just end this Christ sends us, whom the prophet David wrote of in the person of the Church. And it should be noted that he does not say, "unto" Christ, but "in" the end. For we are not sent unto Christ only, that we may arrive at Him, but also that we may remain in Christ, and be one with Him. But what does he mean when he says, For the winepresses? It is customary to take the winepresses as martyrdoms.

For by the affliction of persecutions those who confessed the name of Christ were trodden down, and their mortal remains, as it were the grape-skins, remained on the earth. The winepresses can also be understood to mean the faithful generally, according as they endure the adversities of this world for God's sake. For it is written, All who wish to live godly in Christ suffer persecution. It is sung, then, for the winepresses, for the establishment of the Church: when our Lord, after He rose again, ascended into heaven. For then He sent the Holy Spirit, filled with which the disciples preached the word of God with confidence, that the Church might be gathered together. Now the intention of the Prophet in this work is to invite all to the faith of Christ, whose praise is so great in all the earth, and by whose grace and virtue the universal Church has been established and strengthened. For he says,

O Lord our Lord, how admirable is thy name in all the earth! As if he were saying, O Lord of all through power, who art our Lord through grace, how all who dwell upon the earth admire Thee! Thou, O Lord, wast known in Judea only, and thy name was great in Israel. Thou hast appeared among us, hast died for us, hast risen again, hast ascended into heaven, hast poured forth Thy Spirit upon the hearts of the disciples, by whose preaching their sound went out into all the earth, and Thy glorious name, which was known in one nation, was made admirable in all the earth. Why admirable? Because thy magnificence is elevated above the heavens. Rising from the dead, Thou didst ascend into heaven, and Thou who seemedst humble didst appear magnificent. Hence it appears whence Thou didst descend, since it was seen by some, and believed by the rest, to what place Thou didst ascend.

Out of the mouth of infants and sucklings thou hast perfected praise because of thine enemies. I cannot take these infants and sucklings to be other than those to whom the Apostle says, As to little ones in Christ, I gave you milk to drink, not meat. These were signified by those who went before the Lord praising him. Of these the Lord himself made use of this testimony, when, as the Jews spoke to rebuke them, he answered: Have you not read, Out of the mouth of infants and sucklings thou hast perfected praise? He rightly does not say, thou hast made, but, Thou hast perfected praise. For there are also in the Church those who are no longer fed on milk, but eat solid food: these the same Apostle signifies, saying, We speak wisdom among the perfect. But the Churches are not made perfect by these alone, for if these alone existed, no provision would be made for the human race.

Provision is made, however, when those also who are not yet capable of the knowledge of spiritual and eternal things are nourished by faith in the temporal history which, for our salvation, after the patriarchs and prophets, was administered by the very Wisdom of God through the taking on of man, in which there is salvation to everyone who believes; so that, admonished by authority, he may serve the precepts, by which each one, being purified and rooted and grounded in charity, may be able to run, along with all the saints, no longer a little one on milk, but a young man on solid food, to comprehend the breadth, and length, and height, and depth: and to know also the surpassing knowledge of the charity of Christ. This Thou hast done, Lord God, because of thine enemies: That Thou mightest destroy the enemy and the avenger. Who is understood by the enemy, if not the pagan and the heretic, and by the avenger, the Jew, who, as though to avenge and defend his own law, persecuted the Christian name?

These, O Lord, Thou hast destroyed and confounded, when, at thy inspiration, little ones came to thy faith, and the lawyers and philosophers remained in their error. Great is the confusion of the enemies, when infants praise and the wise blaspheme, and in this, O Lord, thy holy name is wonderful, when the little one grasps by thy grace what the great one cannot grasp by his own wisdom. Whence it is written: I confess to thee, Father, Lord of heaven and earth, because thou hast hidden these things from the wise and prudent, and hast revealed them to little ones. Whence also is added,

For I shall behold thy heavens, the works of thy fingers: the moon and the stars, which thou hast founded. As if he were saying, Since I shall perceive and understand the Scriptures, which, by the working of the Holy Spirit, thou hast written through thy ministers. The heavens are seen as the works of God's fingers, that is, are understood as the books brought down even to the slowness of infants; and these, through the humility of historical faith, which was accomplished in time, they draw well-nourished and strengthened to the sublimity of the understanding of eternal things, and confirm them therein. From these words it is plainly clear that the holy prophet speaks mystically. For if he were speaking according to the letter alone, having said the lesser light, he ought to have said the greater light first, so as to declare that the sun was founded before, and afterward the moon and stars.

But because he was speaking according to mystical understanding, so that we should take the moon as the holy Church, and the stars as all the saints: he did not wish to name the sun, evidently because he was speaking to that eternal sun himself: of whom it is written, But unto you that fear God shall the sun of justice arise. Of whom the reprobate will say at the end: The sun of justice hath not risen upon us. Therefore, by saying the moon and the stars which thou hast founded, and by being silent only about the sun, which was made, he indicated that he was speaking only to him who makes not only the sun and moon and stars bodily, but also makes the moon, the Church, and the stars, all the saints, spiritually. Thus, then, when something is lacking in the history, we are led by clear reasoning to the understanding of the allegory.

Then he makes mention of the earthly man and the heavenly, whom the almighty Father visited: the one wonderfully relieving through mercy, the other ineffably exalting through the glory of divinity: in wonder at whom he added,

What is man, that thou art mindful of him? Or the son of man, that thou visitest him? Between man and the son of man there is a distance. For every son of man is a man: but not every man is a son of man. Adam indeed was man, but not a son of man. Therefore those who bear the image of the earthly man, who is not a son of man, are designated by the name of men. But those who bear the image of the heavenly man are called sons of men. Man, therefore, in this place is called the earthly one, but the son of man is the heavenly one. And the one is far separated from God, but the other is present to God, and therefore he is mindful of that one, as of those placed far away: this one he truly visits, whom, being present, he brightens with his countenance. For salvation is far from sinners. And the light of thy countenance, O Lord, is marked upon us.

The son of man, then, was first visited in that man of the Lord, born of the Virgin Mary, of whom, on account of the weakness of the flesh which the Wisdom of God deigned to bear, and the humility of the passion, it is rightly added, Thou hast made him a little lower than the angels. But that clarification is added, by which, rising again, he ascended into heaven. Thou hast crowned him, he says, with glory and honor, and hast set him over the works of thy hands. By the works of God's hands the angels are understood, in that they were made by the Lord more subtle and worthy than the other creatures. And because he deigned not only to possess the angelic nature, but also to redeem the human nature after its fall, and to subject it to himself, it is rightly added,

Thou hast subjected all things under his feet. Which "all things" he explains: All sheep and oxen. By sheep are understood all the simple in the holy Church, who, after the manner of sheep, live simply and humbly under the rule of shepherds. By oxen, indeed, are designated the rulers themselves, who do not cease to plow and cultivate the hearts of men with the word of doctrine, so that they may render spiritual fruit to the Lord from earthly minds. Therefore the Lord subjected all sheep and oxen to himself, because he disposes and rules all the elect, both the subject and the prelates, in the holy Church (1 Peter 3).

And because here the wicked are mixed with the good, it is well said concerning the reprobate, Moreover the cattle of the field, the birds of the air, and the fishes of the sea. That he says "Moreover," he places to mark the difference between the good and the bad: and this "Moreover" is to be referred not only to the cattle of the field, but also to the birds of the air and the fishes of the sea. By the cattle of the field are understood men rejoicing in fleshly pleasure, where nothing arduous, nothing laborious rises up. For the field is the broad way that leads to destruction. In the field Abel is slain. The birds of the air are the proud, who, puffed up in thought and speech, while they reckon others inferior to themselves, fly as it were on high in their minds. Of whom it is said, Our lips are our own; who is our Lord? The fishes of the sea are the curious, Who walk through the paths of the sea.

That is, they search out in the depth of this age temporal things, which, like paths in the sea, quickly vanish and perish. And he does not say, They walk, but, They walk through: showing the most stubborn zeal of those seeking vain and passing things. Now these three kinds of vices, that is, pleasure of the flesh, and pride, and curiosity, comprise all sins, which are enumerated by John the Apostle, when he says: Love not the world, because all that is in the world is the concupiscence of the flesh, and the concupiscence of the eyes, and the ambition of the world. For by the eyes curiosity is usually understood. And with these three temptations the Lord was tempted: and when the enemy could not prevail with him, this is said of him, After the devil had completed every temptation.

And because the Lord is so wonderful, in that he instructs infants, destroys the crafty, has mercy on sinners, visits the saints, possesses the angels, contains men, subjects every creature to himself: let us praise him who is the beginning and the end, in the beginning and in the end, and never cease from his praise, saying: O Lord, our Lord

This psalm is sung For the hidden things of the son. And because it does not say whose, the only-begotten Son of God is to be understood. For the Lord himself, when he places "Son" without addition, wishes himself, the only-begotten Son, to be understood, where he says, If the Son shall make you free, then shall you be free indeed. For he did not say the Son of God, but only by saying "Son" gives us to understand whose Son he is. This manner of speech is admitted only by the excellence of him of whom we so speak, that even if we do not name him, he can still be understood. Thus indeed we say, It rains, it clears up, it thunders, and other such things: nor do we add who does this, because the excellence of the doer offers itself spontaneously to the minds of all. We believe in two comings of the Lord: one past, which the Jews did not understand: the other future, which both parties hope for.

And since this one, which the Jews did not understand, has profited the Gentiles, it is not unfittingly understood that this coming is spoken of, "For the hidden things of the son," where blindness in Israel happened in part, that the fullness of the Gentiles might enter in. Two judgments also are insinuated through the Scriptures: one hidden, and the other manifest. The hidden judgment is the punishment by which each one is either exercised for purification, or admonished to conversion, or, if he has despised it, is blinded unto damnation. But the manifest judgment is that by which the Lord is to come to judge the living and the dead. Those who are not corrected by this hidden judgment will be justly punished by that manifest one.

In this psalm, then, are to be observed the hidden things of the Son, that is, his humble coming, which profited the Gentiles, along with the blindness of the Jews, and the punishment which is now secretly at work, not yet in the damnation of sinners, but either in the exercise of the converted, or in admonition, that they may be converted, or in blindness, that they may be prepared for damnation. It is spoken, then, in the voice of the Son: let it be spoken in the voice of all the perfect to the Father:

I will confess to thee, O Lord, with my whole heart: I will relate all thy wonderful works. As if he were openly saying, I will praise thee with my whole heart, with an entire heart, with a perfect heart. Blessed is the man who keeps back nothing for himself out of his whole heart, but spends the whole in the praise of God. God ought to be praised as much as he is to be loved. Therefore as he is to be loved with the whole heart, the whole soul, all the strength: so also is he to be praised. And as no tribulation, no distress, no creature ought to separate us from the charity of God: so neither from the praise of God. He who is such is fit to say: I will confess to thee, O Lord, with my whole heart. But if the Lord is to be praised, is he not also to be proclaimed? Therefore it is added, I will relate all thy wonderful works.

All things indeed, both visible and invisible, both spiritual and bodily, both those things which thou dost visibly around the body to nourish faith, and those which thou dost invisibly around the soul to bestow eternal salvation. Why are the wonderful works of God related? So that from the works we may recognize the author, from the wonders we may marvel at the wonderful one: and thus be roused to know and love the Lord. And so, temporal things being despised, let us fix our hope and our joy in him, as this holy man did, who, adding, says:

I will be glad and exult in thee; I will sing to thy name, O Most High. I will be glad (he says) in thee, not in the world, not in the desires of the flesh, not in the pleasures of the world, which is vanity: but in thee who art truth. The joy of this world leads to ruin, as it is written: Woe to you that laugh now, for you shall mourn. But the joy which is in God begins indeed in this life, but endures forever: as the Lord himself says to his disciples: But I will see you again, and your heart shall rejoice, and your joy no man shall take from you. And it must be known that gladness pertains to the mind, exultation to the body, and the psalm to good working.

Let there be, then, spiritual gladness in the mind, holy cheerfulness in the body, and let divine praise be in accord with good working, and thus is fulfilled what is said: I will be glad and exult in thee, I will sing to thy name, O Most High.

When my enemy shall be turned back: they shall be weakened, and perish before thy face. Here he begins to declare what he perceives about the hidden things of the Son. When the Lord was tempted, the enemy was turned back. It was said to him: Get thee behind me, Satan; for it is written, Thou shalt adore the Lord thy God, and him only shalt thou serve. Then he who by tempting desired to set himself before, was made to go back—not by deceiving the one tempted, but by prevailing nothing against him. The enemy was turned back, therefore, after he was unable to deceive the heavenly man when tempted; and he turned himself to earthly men, where he can have dominion. Wherefore no man goes before him, and makes him go behind, except one who, putting off the image of the earthly man, shall have borne the image of the heavenly. Indeed the devil was turned back also in the persecution of the just.

And he is far more useful as a persecutor than if he went before as leader and prince. We ought rather to choose to flee him as pursuer than to follow him as leader. For we have somewhere to flee, and to hide ourselves in the hidden places of the Son, because the Lord has become our refuge. And because there are many ministers and members of the devil, it is rightly said in the plural number: they shall be weakened, and perish before thy face. The devil was weakened together with his ministers when he lost the power which he had over the human race. But he shall perish when he is cast into the eternal fire, which is prepared for the devil and his angels.

And it is rightly said: they shall perish before thy face, because it is written, Let the wicked be taken away, that he see not the glory of God: or because the enemy was turned back, therefore the unjust and impious shall be weakened by their own evil works, and shall perish by their own impieties, from thy face, that is, from thy knowledge. And deservedly:

For thou hast maintained my judgment and my cause: thou hast sat on the throne, who judgest justice. God was in Christ, reconciling the world to himself (2 Cor. He himself, in Christ as in his throne, was judging the Jews who judged Christ. They judged openly, he secretly. They were caught, according as the Lord himself says: I will catch the wise in their own craftiness. For by their own judgment and counsel they thought to act so that the name of Christ might be blotted out from the earth: and by that very judgment they brought it about that the name of Christ should become wonderful in all the earth. That judgment, therefore, by which he was judged by the impious, and that cause by which the just and innocent one was condemned, was not theirs, but Christ’s: because it harmed them, but profited Christ; and in a wondrous manner, by their own wicked wills, Christ did what he willed. But this that is said, Who judgest justice, is said in contrast to those who judged iniquity. And because, with the devil and his members condemned, the nations were converted to Christ, it is openly added:

Thou hast rebuked the nations, and the wicked one hath perished: thou hast blotted out their name for ever and ever. Sharply were they to be rebuked who had long persevered in iniquities. With harsh rebuke were they to be struck who, having despised the Creator, worshipped idols. And it is well said, The wicked one hath perished: because from wicked he was made pious. He perished from what he was, who began to be what he had not been. Hence it is written, Turn away the wicked, and they shall not be. Their name is blotted out forever, because they are no longer called Pagans, but Christians: they were fornicators, they have become chaste; they were wrathful, they have become gentle; they were greedy, they have become generous; they were unjust, they have become just. Their name, therefore, is blotted out for ever and ever, so that neither in this age nor in the age to come are they reckoned idolaters or unjust, if they have been truly converted.

The swords of the enemy have failed unto the end, and their cities thou hast destroyed. By the swords of the enemy are understood the diverse opinions of error, by which souls are slain as if by swords. These swords fail unto the end—that is, utterly fail—when those who had been seduced by some error return to the faith. Of whom the Apostle says, You were sometime darkness, but now light in the Lord. Walk as children of light: for the fruit of the light is in all goodness and justice. And because, error being taken away, vices and sins are destroyed, it is rightly said: And their cities thou hast destroyed. Cities—those in whom the devil reigns—are those in whom crafty and deceitful counsels hold, as it were, the place of a senate house. To this principality, as satellites and ministers, are present the offices of the members: the eyes for curiosity, the ears for wantonness, the hands for plunder, and the other members serving perverse counsels.

As it were the common folk of this city are all the delicate affections and turbulent movements of the mind, plotting daily seditions in man. Therefore, where a king is, where a senate, where ministers, where common folk are found: there is a city. For such things would not exist in evil cities, unless they existed first in individual men, who are as it were the elements and seeds of cities. These cities thou destroyest, when, the prince being excluded from thence (of whom it is said, The prince of this world is cast out), these kingdoms are laid waste by the word of truth, malignant counsels are lulled to sleep, shameful affections are tamed, the unjust services of the members and senses are taken captive and transferred to the service of good works: so that now (as the Apostle says) sin may not reign in our mortal body, that we should obey its lusts; neither let us yield our members to serve sin.

Then the soul is pacified, and man is set in order for the attainment of rest and blessedness: whence it is immediately subjoined, Their memory hath perished with a noise: and the Lord endureth for ever. A great uproar arises when impiety is overturned and destroyed. For none passes over to the highest peace, where there is the highest silence, except one who has first warred with great tumult against his own vices. Then man is made a most peaceful kingdom to God, when the tumult of vices is so destroyed in him that their very memory is utterly blotted out.

And there the Lord endures for ever, where now iniquity finds no place—either outwardly through action, or inwardly through thought—or, according to the history, the memory of the impious has perished with a noise, because the clamor and savagery of those who persecuted Christ has utterly grown quiet. For where are those who with such an uproar cried out, Crucify him, crucify him? Where are the persecutors of the martyrs? Who even remembers them? They thought to extinguish the Christian name. They themselves have perished, and the Lord endures for ever.

He hath prepared his throne in judgment: and he shall judge the world in equity, he shall judge the people in justice. The throne of God is the Son of the Father. Whence it is written, God was in Christ, reconciling the world to himself. This throne God prepared, because he sent him to be incarnate, that he might be judged in the form of a servant, might suffer, rise again, and reign: and he who was judged in secret shall openly judge, not unjustly and unfairly (as men often judge, who, while loving some more, others less, sometimes depart from the equity of judgment; and while judging according to deeds, not according to hearts, generally do not preserve the rectitude of justice); but as one equitable and just, he shall judge the world in equity, sparing no one, rendering equal recompense to all. He shall judge the people in justice, conscience bearing witness, and the thoughts either accusing or defending:

And the Lord is become a refuge for the poor: a helper in due time, in tribulation. However much that enemy, who was turned back, may persecute, what will he harm him for whom the Lord has become a refuge? But this will happen thus, if for Christ's sake one has chosen to be poor, loving nothing which either forsakes one living or loving here, or is forsaken by one dying. For such a poor one the Lord has become a refuge. Nor does he help his poor one as soon as tribulation begins: but only then, when he knows the time to be opportune. For whom the Lord loves, he chastens; and he scourges every son whom he receives. These he tests in tribulation, and helps in due season. And therefore,

And let them trust in thee who know thy name: for thou hast not forsaken them that seek thee, O Lord. For the soul that seeks, where it binds its hope, when it is torn away from this world, is opportunely received by the knowledge of the name of God. For the name itself of God is everywhere made known: but the knowledge of the name is when he is known whose the name is. Because, therefore, we have already known God through faith, let us bind our hope in him, let us seek him through love: that when we have found him, we may remain with him. For he does not forsake those who seek him; rather, by possessing them he guards them, by guarding them he glorifies them, and reigns with them forever. Whence the holy Prophet admonishes us to sing to our Lord, and to preach his grace to all. For he says,

Sing ye to the Lord, who dwelleth in Sion: declare his ways among the Gentiles. A psalm indeed is so called where there is a harmony of voice with instrument. And in a psalm we understand two things: the voice of praise, and the harmony of work. He truly sings a psalm who so praises God as to live rightly. But the Lord himself dwells in Sion (which is interpreted "watchtower" or "speculation") and bears the image of the Church which now is; just as Jerusalem bears the image of the Church which is to come—that is, of the city of the saints already enjoying the angelic life: for Jerusalem is interpreted "vision of peace." Now speculation precedes vision, just as this Church precedes that eternal and immortal city which is promised. And we exercise here speculation, that we may arrive at vision.

It is enjoined upon us, therefore, that we sing to the Lord who dwells in Sion, that we may with one accord praise the Lord who dwells in the Church, and announce to others the ways of holy preaching. For we ought to praise our Lord by our work, to contemplate him in mind, to preach him with our voice: so that unto his praise tongue, conscience, and life may sound together in us. But on behalf of those who suffer persecution for the word of God which they preach, consolation follows, when it is added:

For requiring their blood, he hath remembered them. That is, the last judgment shall come, where both the glory of those slain, and the punishment of those who slew them, shall be made manifest. But as to what is said, He hath remembered, let no one think it is put as though forgetfulness could fall upon God. But because the judgment is to come after a long time, it is put according to the feeling of weak men, who think God as it were forgetful, because he does not so quickly execute vengeance as they themselves wish. To these also is said what follows, He hath not forgotten the cry of the poor.

What is this cry of the poor, which God does not forget? It follows and is said: Have mercy on me, O Lord: see my humiliation from my enemies. Why, then, did he not say, Have mercy on us, O Lord, and see our humiliation from our enemies? Not as many poor cry out, but as one. Is it not because one now intercedes for the saints—he who first was made poor for us, though he was rich? His members are afflicted by enemies on earth, and he himself cries out for them in heaven.

He himself also says, You who lift me up from the gates of death, that I may announce all your praises in the gates of the daughter of Sion. For man is exalted in him, not only the one whom he bears, who is the head of the Church: but also whoever of us is among the other members, is exalted from all wicked desires, which are the gates of death, because through them one goes to death. But the gates of the daughter of Sion are all the best pursuits in the holy Church, through which one comes to the vision of peace. In these gates the whole praises of God are well announced.

Then follows: I will exult in your salvation. The salvation of God is our Lord Jesus Christ, through whom we have been saved, who has transferred our hearts from the vain joy of this age, that we might truly rejoice in him. But this joy of ours is still in hope, not in reality. For we are afflicted by wicked men as long as we live here: concerning whom it is added: The nations are fixed fast in the destruction which they made. Observe how punishment is kept for the sinner from his own works, and those who wished to persecute the Church are fixed fast in that very destruction which they thought to inflict. For while they desired to kill bodies, they themselves were dying in soul. Of whom it is further added: In this snare which they hid, their foot is caught. The hidden snare is a deceitful thought: the foot of the soul is understood as love, which, when it is wicked, is called desire; but when upright, is called affection or charity.

For it is moved by love as toward a place to which it tends. But the place of the soul is not in any space which the form of a body occupies: but in delight, whither by love it rejoices to have arrived. The foot of sinners therefore, that is, love, is caught in the snare which it hides: because when delight has followed a fraudulent act (when God has handed them over to the desires of their heart), then that delight binds them, so that they cannot break love away from it and transfer it to useful things. Rightly, then, it is added:

The Lord shall be known, executing judgments: the sinner is caught in the works of his own hands. These are the judgments in which the Lord shall be known, that his own works, which he makes wicked, accuse, judge, convict, punish the sinner. He seeks no other witnesses, except life and conscience. But this is the just judgment of almighty God, that each one receive according to what he has done in the body, whether good or evil. There is interposed the Canticle of the diapsalm, as it were the hidden joy of a separation which now takes place not by places, but by the affections of souls between sinners and the just, just as of grains from chaff still on the threshing floor. And it follows: Let sinners be turned into hell, all the nations that forget God. For those who persevere in their sins, because they do not wish to turn to God, it is necessary that they be turned into hell: and there they justly feel the punishment, who here neglect to correct their fault.

And just as they did not approve of having God in their knowledge, he handed them over to a reprobate mind. Of such it is said in a certain place: They provoked me with that which was not God, and angered me with their vanities. And I will provoke them with that which is not a people, and I will anger them with a foolish nation. But while these perish and are handed over to forgetfulness by God, will God forget also those who have known him through faith, and for love of him have despised the world, and have suffered tribulation in the world? Far be it. For it is added:

For the forgetting of the poor shall not be forever: the patience of the poor shall not perish forever. Now there seems to be a forgetting of the poor, as long as the Lord does not defend them from the tribulation which they endure: and their patience seems to be perishing, since no glory is now paid back for it. But the forgetting of the poor shall not be forever, nor shall their patience perish forever, because then its glory is perceived, when all their labors are at once brought to an end.

From the words that follow, he seems to make mention of Antichrist, when he adds: Arise, O Lord, let not man be strengthened: let the nations be judged in your sight. For that man of sin will be so strengthened that he will sit in the temple of God, and will even name himself God, and will cause many to be turned to himself. Against him, then, the Prophet asks the Lord to arise, and to condemn by his judgment those who will believe in him. Of whom he further adds: Appoint, O Lord, a lawgiver over them: let the nations know that they are men. Rightly he names him a lawgiver, because he is going to bring forth his own law, just as Christ brought his: and he will preach in his own name, just as Christ preached in his own name. But when he says, Let the nations know that they are men, he asks that those who are going to believe in him recognize that he walks not according to God, but according to man.

And because that one is believed to come to such a summit of empty glory, and will be permitted to do such great things both against all men and against the saints of God, that then indeed some weak persons will think that God neglects human affairs: with a diapsalm interposed, he adds as it were the voice of those groaning and asking why judgment is delayed. Why, O Lord (he says), have you withdrawn far off? Then he who thus asked, as if he had suddenly understood, or as if knowing he had asked in order to teach, adds, saying: You look down in opportune times, in tribulation, that is, you look down opportunely, and you bring about tribulations, to inflame souls with desire for your coming. For that fountain of life is sweeter to those who have thirsted much. And so he insinuates the plan of the delay, saying, While the wicked man is proud, the poor man is set on fire.

It is a marvel, and true, that little ones are corrected by the exercise of persecutors, through zeal for good hope, unto living rightly. By which mystery it comes about that even heresies are permitted: not because the heretics themselves wish this, but because divine providence works this from their sins, which makes and orders light, but only orders the darkness, so that by comparison with it the light may become more welcome, just as by comparison with the heretics the discovery of truth becomes more pleasant. For by comparison with them, those who are approved become manifest among men, who are known to God.

They are caught in the plans which they devise. That is, their evil thoughts become chains for them. But why? Because the sinner is praised in the desires of his soul: and the wicked man is blessed. The tongues of flatterers bind souls in sins. For it delights to do those things in which not only is a reprover not feared, but even the doer is praised and blessed. Hence they are caught in the plans which they devise.

Let no one congratulate the man who prospers in his way, whose sins lack an avenger, and who has a flatterer at hand. This is a greater wrath of the Lord than that. The sinner has provoked the Lord. Elsewhere: he has embittered him, that he may suffer these things, and that the scourges of correction may not be inflicted. According to the multitude of his wrath he will not seek. He is greatly angry while he does not inquire, while he as it were forgets, and does not attend to sins, and through frauds and crimes one arrives at riches and honors. Which will especially happen in that Antichrist, who will seem so blessed to men that he will even be thought God. But how great this wrath of God is, the following things teach.

God is not in his sight: his ways are defiled at all times. He who knows whence one ought to rejoice in the soul, knows how great an evil it is to be forsaken by the light of truth. Since men consider it a great evil, the blindness of bodily eyes, because that light is withdrawn: how great, then, a punishment does he suffer, who by the prosperity of his sins is brought to this, that God is not in his sight, and his ways are contaminated at all times, that is, that his thoughts and counsels are unclean? Your judgments are removed from his face. For a mind evilly conscious to itself, while it seems to itself to suffer no punishment, believes that God does not judge: and thus the judgments of God are removed from his face, when this very thing is a great damnation. He shall have dominion over all his enemies. For thus it is handed down, that he shall overcome all kings, and alone shall obtain the kingdom.

When also, according to the Apostle who prophesies of him, he shall sit in the temple of God, exalting himself above all that is called God, and that is worshipped.

And since, being given over to the desire of his own heart, and destined for final damnation, he is going to come, through nefarious arts, to that vain and empty summit and damnation: therefore it follows, For he has said in his heart, I shall not be moved from generation to generation without evil. That is, my fame and my name shall not pass from this generation to the generation of posterity: unless by evil arts I obtain a lofty principate, of which posterity cannot be silent. For a lost mind, devoid of good arts, and estranged from the light of justice, contrives by evil arts to open for itself a path to fame so lasting that it is celebrated even among posterity. And those who cannot become well known desire even that men speak ill of them: provided only that their name spread most widely. Which I think is said here, I shall not be moved from generation to generation, without evil.

What wonder, then, if that man of sin also (who is going to fill up all the wickedness and impiety which all the false prophets began, and is going to work such signs as to deceive, if possible, even the elect) is going to say in his heart, I shall not be moved from generation to generation, without evil?

His mouth is full of cursing, and bitterness, and deceit: under his tongue are labor and sorrow. By cursing may be understood open insults, by bitterness threats and terrors, by deceit flattering and seductive words: by which he has turned the multitude to his own side. But it is well described that labor and sorrow are under his tongue: because his inward parts will be filled with wrath, and hatred, and every evil will. There is nothing more laborious than iniquity and impiety. Which labor is followed by sorrow, because one labors not only without fruit, but even unto ruin. Which labor and sorrow refer back to what he said in his heart, I shall not be moved from generation to generation, without evil. And therefore it is said, under his tongue, and not, in his tongue: because he is going to think these things silently, but is going to speak other things to men, so that he may seem good, and just, and the son of God.

He sits in ambush with the rich. With what rich men, except those whom he will heap up with the gifts of this age? And therefore he is said to sit in ambush with these: because he will display their false happiness to deceive men, who, with wicked will, while desiring to be such, and not seeking eternal goods, fall into his snares. And therefore it follows: In hidden places, that he may kill the innocent. It is said, In hidden places, where it is not easily understood what is to be sought, or what is to be fled. But to kill the innocent is to make a guilty man out of an innocent one.

His eyes look upon the poor man. For he will especially persecute those of whom it was said: Blessed are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven. He lies in wait in a hidden place, like a lion in his den. He calls him a lion in a hidden place, in whom both force and deceit will operate. For the first persecution of the Church was violent, when Christians were compelled to sacrifice by proscriptions and torments. The second persecution was fraudulent, which was carried out through heretics and false brethren. There remains a third, to come through Antichrist, than which nothing is more dangerous: because it will be both violent and fraudulent. He will have force through empire, deceit through miracles. Force is referred to when it says, lion; deceit, when it says, in a hidden place. And again the same things are repeated in the same order. He lies in wait (it says) that he may seize the poor man. This pertains to cruelty.

But what follows: To seize the poor man while he draws him in: is attributed to deceitfulness. He will seize by raging, he will draw in by flattering.

In his own snare he will humble him, he will bow down and fall, when he has had dominion over the poor. The snare signifies ambushes: and he says well, In his own snare he will humble him: for when he begins to work those signs, the more wonderful they seem to men, the more those holy ones who will then exist will be despised, and held as though for nothing. Those whom he, whom they will resist through justice and innocence, will seem to surpass by his wonderful deeds. But He will bow down and fall, when he has had dominion over the poor. That is, when he has inflicted whatever punishments upon the servants of God who resist him.

But why, He will bow down and fall? For he said in his heart, God has forgotten, he has turned away his face, lest he see unto the end. This is the most wretched bowing down and fall, when the human mind, as it were, prospers in its iniquities, and thinks itself spared, when in fact it is being blinded and reserved for a final and fitting vengeance: of which he speaks, when he adds: Arise, O Lord God, and let your hand be exalted. That is, let your power be made manifest. For above he had said, Arise, O Lord, let not man be strengthened, let the nations be judged in your sight, that is, in secret, where God alone sees. This has happened, when the impious arrive at that great happiness, as it seems to men: over whom a lawgiver is set, such as they have deserved to have.

But now, after that hidden punishment and vengeance, it is said, Arise, O Lord God, and let your hand be exalted; not indeed in secret, but now in most manifest glory, Forget not the poor. As the impious think, who say, God has forgotten, he has turned away his face, lest he see unto the end. The Church, then, laboring in those times, like a ship in great waves and storms, rouses the Lord as though sleeping, that he may command the winds, and calm may return.

And now, with judgment made manifest, those who understand and rejoice say: Wherefore has the wicked man provoked God? That is, what has it profited him to do so many evils? For he said in his heart, He will not require it. But it is not as he himself thought. For, You see, for you consider labor and sorrow: of the just. That you may deliver them (that is, the impious) into your hands. That is, into the power of your judgment. Their malice does not escape you, nor will your hand cease from vengeance.

To you the poor man is left. For this reason he is poor, that is, he has despised all things of this world, so that you alone might be his hope. This poor man was granted to them for a time, to be punished: to you he is left in the end, to be glorified. To the orphan you will be a helper: when the impious man has been a persecutor.

Break the arm of the sinner (that is, his power) and of the wicked man: his sin will be sought, and will not be found. He will be judged by his own sin, and he himself will perish on account of his own sin. Let sinners and the wicked fear, therefore, because God will break them, and will reduce their wickedness to nothing. Let the poor and the orphans of Christ take comfort, since God will receive them, and after their labor will lead them to eternal rest. The Lord shall reign for ever and ever: you nations shall perish from his land. The Lord shall not reign with an earthly empire, but with a heavenly one. For an earthly kingdom is transitory and perishable. This kingdom will pass away; this age will pass away. Another kingdom will succeed, and another age, in which the Lord shall reign forever. But what is his land, if not the holy Church?

Then truly, firm and established, when this mortal thing shall have put on immortality, and this corruptible thing shall have put on incorruption. From which land the nations, that is, the impious, that is, sinners, will perish, of whom in another psalm it is said: Not so the wicked, not so, but like the dust which the wind drives from the face of the earth. For since they will have no weight of virtue, they will not be able to attain to that blessed stability, whence it is written, Let the impious be taken away, lest he see the glory of God.

And then will be fulfilled what is added: The Lord has heard the desire of the poor. That is, that desire with which they burned, longing in the anguishes and tribulations of this age, for the day of the Lord. And this desire was the preparation of their heart. Whence he continues and adds: Your ear has heard the preparation of their heart. This is the preparation of heart, of which it is sung in another psalm: My heart is ready, O God. Of which the Apostle says, But if we hope for what we do not see, we wait for it with patience. But we ought to understand the ear of the Lord, not as a bodily member, but as his mercy, which hears us.

And what is that desire of the poor, which the Lord is about to hear? But that he may come To judge the fatherless and the humble. That is, not for him who is conformed to this age, but for him who despises all things for the sake of God, and acknowledges himself to be dust and ashes. But it is one thing to judge the fatherless, another to judge for the fatherless. He judges the fatherless, even he who condemns: but he judges for the fatherless, who pronounces sentence on his behalf. It is, therefore, the desire of the poor, that the end of the age may come, and the judgment of God be made: so that, the just being separated from the impious, the wicked may no longer prevail to harm the good. And this is what follows: That man may no more presume to magnify himself upon the earth.

In the Lord I trust: how do you say to my soul, Fly away to the mountain like a sparrow? As if he were to say: Since my soul has so great a mountain in which to place its trust, namely Christ, on what ground do you say that it should pass over to another mountain like a sparrow, that is, as though wary and cunning? I hold to one mountain, in which I trust. How do you say that I should pass over to you, as though there were many Christs? Or if by pride you claim to be mountains, indeed the sparrow ought to have the powers and precepts of God as wings. But these very things prevent it from flying to those mountains, and from placing its hope in proud men. I have a house where I may rest, because I trust in the Lord. For the sparrow also finds itself a house: and the Lord has become a refuge for the poor man.

Let us say, therefore, with full confidence, lest, while we seek Christ among heretics, we lose him: In the Lord I trust. By these words, then, we are taught to beware the crafty opinions of heretics.

Whence it is also added: For behold the sinners have bent their bow. That is, they have applied holy Scripture to their own errors and their own opinions. Which Scripture is rightly called a bow: because, as an arrow issues from a bow to strike, so a sentence proceeds from Scripture to strike the heart. They have prepared their arrows in the quiver, that is, they have fitted their poisoned opinions into holy Scripture itself, which contains sentences within itself just as a quiver contains arrows: they have prepared these, namely, To shoot in the dark at the upright of heart. That is, that they may strike those who are upright in faith by means of obscure interpretations. Or, in the dark, that is, in the fact that they are less capable of holy Scripture, and less founded in faith. For the darkness of the heart is ignorance. And because such danger looms from these men, it must be said, In the Lord I trust.

And therefore it is necessary, O Lord, that trust be placed in you, and that recourse be had to your help.

For the things you have made perfect, they have destroyed. That is, the faith, which although it is one, is nevertheless held in various respects: as concerning humanity and divinity, and concerning things past, present, and future: and therefore it is expressed in the plural, because it consists of many things. Which faith you have made perfect, that is, you have inspired, perfect and whole, in the hearts of the faithful by your grace, and have thundered forth by your teaching: they have destroyed, as much as was in their power, and have denied it. This turn of expression is made for the sake of attestation. Sinners contrive to do such things. But what has the Just One done? That is, the Lord, who deals justly with each side, letting no evil go unpunished, no good unrewarded, what has he done? And this question is not asked from ignorance, but that the inexperience of the weak may be instructed. The Lord has done what was his to do: whence, the question having been asked, the answer follows,

The Lord is in his holy temple, the Lord, his throne is in heaven. They themselves are the temple of God, in whom the Lord dwells through faith. Whence the Apostle says, The temple of God is holy, which you are. But those who, after faith, advance to contemplation, are not only a temple, but also heaven. Whom the Apostle points to, when he says, But our conversation is in heaven. In them the Lord dwells as in heaven. From which words it is shown, that the Lord neither abandons the greater for the sake of the lesser, nor despises the lesser for the sake of the greater.

Whence it is well added, His eyes look upon the poor man. That is, the regard of his mercy is not turned away from the poor man, namely such a one as this, of whom it is written, Blessed are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven. And it is no wonder, if the just Lord dwells in the poor, who trust in him, and by dwelling in the wise, who proclaim his faith, illumines them: and blinds through error those who are puffed up. For His eyelids examine the sons of men. The holy Scriptures, which are closed in some places, opened in others, are as it were the eyelids of God: which examine, that is, test the sons of men, whether they are wearied by the obscurity of things, or exercised by it: whether they are puffed up by knowledge of things, or strengthened by it.

And he says this more clearly, when he adds: The Lord tests the just and the impious. That is, he tests the good and the evil. But that one is just, he has from God: that one is impious, however, from himself. How? By loving iniquity, and thus hating himself. And this is what he says: But he who loves iniquity hates his own soul. Whereas, on the contrary, he truly loves himself, who hates sin.

He will rain snares upon sinners. The same outpouring of the Scriptures, according to each one's own merit, is both a rain of snares for the sinner, and a rain of fruitfulness for the just. For when it is understood badly, the Lord rains snares upon sinners: but when understood well, it fertilizes the breasts of the pious and of the faithful. Therefore the same good things both profit the good, and harm the wicked. Whence Paul says, To some we are the odor of death unto death, to others the odor of life unto life.

Fire, brimstone, and the spirit of storms, is the portion of their cup. This is the punishment, and the end of those by whom the name of the Lord is blasphemed: that they are first laid waste by the fire of cupidity, then, as it were, seized upon by the stench of their works as by brimstone, and finally, together with the malignant spirits, are burned in eternal fire. And this is the portion of the cup, that is, of their tribulation: that as the just receive for their portion eternal life, so the impious receive for their portion perpetual damnation. I think it is called a cup for this reason: lest we should suppose that anything beyond measure and mode, even in the very punishments of sinners, is done by divine providence. And therefore, as though rendering a reason why this is done, he adds: Because the Lord is just, and has loved righteousnesses (justitias). Not without cause did he put "righteousnesses" in the plural.

For in many just men, there seem to be, as it were, many righteousnesses, whereas there is but one righteousness of God, in which all partake. Therefore he again returns to singularity, saying, His countenance beheld equity. Thus the Lord is just in Himself, so that He loves His righteousnesses in us. Such as He Himself is, such He desires all of us to be. Whence He admonishes us, saying: Be holy, because I am holy. Keep righteousness, and you shall be like the Lord, and the just Lord will love you as just. But if you neglect righteousness, you shall not go unpunished. For it follows, His countenance beheld equity. And in the good, and in the evil, the severity of God's countenance beholds equity. Now equity is this: that He render good things to the good, and evil things to the evil. It is equity, that He render according to deeds their due.

Therefore, when he says, The Lord is just, and has loved righteousnesses: this pertains to the order of right living; but what he adds, His countenance beheld equity, pertains to the reward of each work.

Titles are therefore set before the psalms, since in the titles is shown what is contained in the text of the psalms. The title of this psalm is, Unto the end, for the eighth, a Psalm of David. This psalm belongs to David, that is, to the perfect soul tending toward the end, that is, toward Christ, and in this psalm acting and praying, for the eighth, which is understood as for the eternal age, which after this present time (which revolves through seven days) will be given to the saints. Now in this psalm is treated the failing of the saints, and the diminishing of truth, the coming of Christ and the splendor of the divine eloquence, the salvation of the just and the destruction of the reprobate. This holy man, therefore, seeing the world set in wickedness, and us placed amid many miseries, intends to set before us a form of prayer: that by his example we may so pass through temporal things as to attain to eternal life. He says therefore:

Save me, O Lord, for the holy one has failed, for truths are diminished from among the sons of men. He seems to look forward to that time when there was no leader nor prophet in Israel: and every man did what was good in his own eyes. Whence it is said in Hosea: For many days the children of Israel shall sit without king, without prince, without sacrifice, without altar, without priesthood, without manifestations (Hosea 3). But when he says, Truths are diminished, he does not say this because truths are diverse, since truth is one, by which holy souls are illumined. But because there are many souls, in them many truths can be spoken of: just as from one face many images appear in mirrors.

But where truth fails, there vanity must necessarily abound. Whence it follows: They have spoken vain things each one to his neighbor: deceitful lips, they have spoken in heart and heart. By neighbor every man must be understood, because there is no one against whom evil is to be done. And the love of neighbor does no evil. What he says twice, in heart and heart, signifies a double heart. From these words, therefore, it is shown that the sons of men are so diminished from truth, that they strive to serve vanity and double falsehood. He announces, both by praying and by prophesying, that the scattering and destruction of this vanity is to come through the coming of Christ, when he adds:

May the Lord destroy all deceitful lips, and the boastful tongue. He says all, lest anyone think himself excepted: as the Apostle says, Upon every soul that works evil. A boastful tongue is a tongue speaking high and proudly. And these words which follow suit the proud:

Who have said, We will magnify our tongue: our lips are our own: who is our lord? This is proper to the proud, that as far as they can, they seek to seem lords: they despise the dominion of authority over themselves: they speak grandly: whatever they have drawn from their own sense, they defend, from the swelling of pride, as though by reason. We must therefore beware of the vice of loquacity and pride, and must not wish to persist obstinately in the things we utter: lest (which God forbid) we be of the number of those whom the Lord has destroyed on account of vices of this kind. For pride carries confusion with it, just as, on the contrary, humility carries exaltation. For it is written, Because God resists the proud, but gives grace to the humble. Whence now, in the person of God the Father, it is subjoined:

By reason of the misery of the needy, and the groaning of the poor, now will I arise, says the Lord. The merciful Father Himself, on account of the needy and the poor, that is, those lacking in the poverty and neediness of spiritual goods, deigned to send His Son. From this beginning proceeds His discourse in Matthew on the mountain, when He says, Blessed are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven. Whence it follows and is added, I will set in safety, I will act with confidence in it. He does not say what he would set. But because he said "in safety," that is, in Christ (according to that: For my eyes have seen your salvation), it is therefore understood that he set therein what pertains to taking away the misery of the needy, and consoling the groaning of the poor. In Him also He acted with confidence, according to that in the Gospel: For He was teaching them as one having authority, not as their scribes.

Of whose power Daniel spoke thus: I saw (he says) in a vision of the night, and behold, in the clouds of heaven the Son of man was coming. And to him was given dominion, and honor, and kingdom, and all peoples, tribes, and tongues shall serve him. And his power is an everlasting power, which shall not be taken away: and his kingdom, one that shall not be corrupted.

Concerning whose light of eloquence it is added: The words of the Lord are chaste words: silver tried by fire, proved by the earth, purified seven times. He says "chaste" without corruption of pretense. For many preach the truth not chastely, because they sell it for the price of the advantages of this age. Of such the Apostle says, that they announce Christ not chastely. And well are they compared to silver tried by fire, because as silver is tried by fire, that it may be pure and clear: so surely are the divine words tried by the fire of the Holy Spirit. Whence the Lord Himself says, The words which I speak to you are spirit and life. And the same Psalmist elsewhere said, Your word is exceedingly refined by fire. And rightly is it said "proved by the earth": because the divine word is proved by the faithful of holy Church to be right and true.

That it is purified seven times: through the fear of God, through piety, through knowledge, through fortitude, through counsel, through understanding, through wisdom. There are also seven degrees of blessedness, which the Lord sets forth in that same sermon which He gave on the mountain. Blessed are the poor in spirit, Blessed are the meek, Blessed are they that mourn, Blessed are they that hunger and thirst after righteousness, Blessed are the merciful, Blessed are the clean of heart, Blessed are the peacemakers. Of these seven sentences it may be observed that that whole lengthy discourse was drawn out. For the eighth, where it is said, Blessed are they who suffer persecution for righteousness' sake, signifies the very fire by which silver is proved sevenfold. And what the coming of Christ, together with the tried word, has accomplished, is shown when it is further added:

You, O Lord, will preserve us, and will keep us from this generation forever. You will keep us from this depraved and perverse generation, lest we be corrupted by its life and manners: and you will preserve us forever, that we may rejoice with You perpetually: here You will keep us, as needy and poor; there You will preserve us as wealthy and rich. These words pertain only to the elect. For concerning the reprobate it is subjoined,

The wicked walk round about: according to your height you have multiplied the sons of men. Well are the wicked said to walk round about: because they are whirled about in the desire for temporal things, which, like a wheel, turns in a repeated circuit of seven days: and therefore they do not arrive at the eighth, that is, at the eternal, for which this Psalm is titled. So also it is said in Solomon: for the wise king is a winnower of the wicked, and he shall bring upon them the wheel of evils. There is also in temporal things a multiplication which turns away from the goodness of God. Whence the body which is corrupted weighs down the soul, and the earthly habitation presses down the mind that thinks many things. But the just are multiplied according to the height of God, when they go from strength to strength.

The title of this psalm is, Unto the end, a Psalm of David. The Apostle says, Christ is the end of the law, unto righteousness for everyone that believes. We believe in Him when we begin to enter the way set before us. We shall see Him, when we have arrived. And therefore He Himself, the end, is constituted as the Psalm for praising God. And because in these verses praise is sung to God: therefore this text of the work is not undeservedly called a psalm. Now a psalm used to be made from the motion of the fingers and the harmony of the voice. He would strike the strings, the instrument would resound, and along with the instrument he himself would sing the words (1 Chron. 15). This signifies, if it signifies anything, that in us good work and praise ought to sound together. To this the present psalm exhorts us, which is inscribed with the name of David, who holds the person of the Church or of any perfect soul.

Therefore the holy man intends in this psalm to admonish us, that by his example we should continually lament the evils of this exile, and ardently pant after the vision of heavenly glory: and pray that we may not fall into deadly sins, and that we may not give the devil occasion to insult us: and that for this steadfastness we should give thanks not to ourselves, but to God. At the end also he shows that he exults in the Lord in his heart, and that he sings and makes music to Him by praising and living well. He prays therefore thus:

How long, O Lord, will you forget me unto the end? How long do you turn away your face from me? Just as God does not forget, so neither does He turn away His face. But Scripture speaks after our manner. God, as it were, forgets us, when in this pilgrimage He allows us to labor a long time. He, as it were, turns away His face, when He hides from us the manifestation of His vision. In these words, therefore, two kinds of compunction are conveyed to us. One, by which we ought to weep over the misery in which we are. The other, by which, while weeping, we ought to sigh for the glory of the heavenly homeland, in which we are not.

Other kinds of compunction are also shown, when it is added: How long shall I take counsel in my soul, sorrow in my heart by day? By day signifies continuance. But counsel is not needed except in adversity. To take counsel in the soul by day is carefully and continually to foresee and to guard against the suggestions and sins by which the soul is corrupted. He took counsel in his soul who said: In my heart I have hidden thy words, that I may not sin against thee. But to have sorrow in the heart by day is to afflict the heart with continual grief over evils already committed. It is fitting therefore that in this our counsel and sorrow we bewail things past, and beware of things to come. But since we have this wrestling against the spiritual forces of wickedness: and the body which is corrupted weighs down the soul: and the earthly dwelling presses down the mind that thinks many things: the soul, beholding these enemies and groaning, adds,

How long shall my enemy be exalted over me? So often is the enemy exalted over us, as often as we are convicted of sinning. The Apostle says: I see another law in my members, warring against the law of my mind, and leading me captive in the law of sin which is in my members: these things pertain to the exaltation of the enemy. Whence the same, groaning, adds: Unhappy man that I am, who shall deliver me from the body of this death? But what follows? The grace of God through Jesus Christ.

This grace he implores, when he says: Look upon me, and hear me, O Lord my God. Look upon me refers to what was said, How long dost thou turn thy face away from me? Hear me refers to what was said, How long wilt thou forget me unto the end? And well does he say, O Lord my God. Lord, that is, Saviour: God, that is, Creator of all, God through power: but mine through grace.

Whence also it is added: Enlighten my eyes, that I never sleep in death: lest at any time my enemy say, I have prevailed against him. God is the light of our heart, sin the death of the soul. Whence it is written: The soul that sinneth, the same shall die. From this sleep of death the Apostle rouses us, saying: Awake, ye just, and sin not. We must pray, therefore, that by him who is the true light our heart's eyes be enlightened, lest we ever, through negligence, sleep in the death of sin: lest the ancient enemy insult us at any time, and say that he has prevailed against us, if he can subject us to himself through sin. For the prince of darkness will rejoice if he can disturb in us the state of uprightness. Whence also it is added:

They that trouble me will rejoice if I be moved: but I have hoped in thy mercy. For to this end they trouble us, to this end they frequently disturb us with countless tribulations, that by their disturbances they may remove us from the state of uprightness. Set in dangers of this kind, therefore, we ought neither to despair, nor again to presume upon our own strength. But our whole hope must be fixed in his mercy, who can both enlighten us, that we err not, and strengthen us, that we may stand firm.

And because hope in God begets joy of heart, it is fittingly added: My heart shall rejoice in thy salvation: I will sing to the Lord, who has given good things to me, and I will sing psalms to the name of the Lord most high. Here he commends to us three things: he rejoices in heart; he sings with the voice; he plays with the hand in deed. By these words the perfection of divine praise is intimated to us. For if we desire to praise the Lord our God purely and perfectly, we ought to refer all that is in us to his praise, so that all our being may resound in his praise: namely, life, tongue, conscience: both because through his salvation, that is, Christ, he saves us; and because he unceasingly grants us temporal and spiritual goods; and because his name is most high. For since we cannot find a higher or better Lord, it is just that we should persevere in his praise, love, and service.

The title of this psalm is the same as above. It treats of the error of the Gentiles, and of the unbelief of the Jews, who denied that the Lord Christ was God: and therefore, themselves corrupted by error and depravity of morals, and made useless, they tried also to corrupt others with themselves and to draw them into their own error. These being rejected by the Lord, he is said to dwell in the just generation, and to send his Salvation out of Sion, that he might convert his people from captivity: that Jacob might rejoice therein and Israel be glad. And these things were written for us to this end, that, attending to their damnation and to the salvation of the faithful, avoiding the former and imitating the latter, we may remain in the faith of the Lord Jesus, who is our end and our reward: to whom when we shall have come, made spiritually Jacob and Israel, we shall rejoice perfectly in him.

This is the intention and the usefulness of this psalm. Its matter is the fool himself.

The fool said in his heart, There is no God. The Gentile people may be understood, who so far departed in folly from the natural law which they had received, that they did not believe him to be Lord by whom they were created. Whence the Apostle says: They changed the glory of the incorruptible God into the likeness of corruptible man, and of birds, and of four-footed beasts, and of serpents. For which reason God also delivered them up to shameful passions, that they might dishonor their own bodies among themselves. With these words the following words agree: They are corrupt, and become abominable in their pursuits: there is none that doth good, no not one. They are corrupted in vices and sins, and became abominable, changing the natural use into that use which is against nature. And well does he call their vices and sins "pursuits," because they perpetrated them not from ignorance or infirmity only, but (what is more grave) from pursuit and from will.

Of these there is not one who does good, who are unwilling to believe in one God. For without faith it is impossible to please God. Whence the Truth itself says: Without me you can do nothing. Because they sinned first in heart, therefore afterward they sinned in deed, and by the merit of their error they were punished with the punishment of corruption. Our mind, therefore, must be guarded with all watchfulness, lest it be corrupted by any vice whatsoever: since our thoughts by no means fly past in vain before the eyes of God. He sees within what he punishes without: hidden guilt indeed is followed by open chastisement, so that by outward evils inward evils are punished, and the heart, which sinned in secret, falls publicly.

What follows seems to pertain to the Jews. For he says: The Lord looked down from heaven upon the children of men, to see if there be any that understand, or seek God. This can be understood of the Jews, in that he calls them more honorably "children of men" on account of the worship of God, in distinction from the Gentiles, who because of the worship of stones became corrupt and abominable. The Lord therefore looks down upon the children of men through his holy souls, which is signified by his saying "from heaven," "to see," that is, to make it seen, whether there be anyone understanding God in heart, or seeking him in deed. Or by "children of men" we can understand imitators of carnal men, just as, conversely, imitators of God are called sons of God.

For through just men God looks down upon sinners, and through the good he rebukes the bad, and through the life and teaching of the saints he makes known the error and injustice of the wicked: of whose iniquity it is added:

All have turned aside, they are become unprofitable together: there is none that doth good, no not one. It is not to be understood that all have turned aside in such a way that in the human race there was not even one who did good: since shortly after he says, The Lord is in the just generation. But it is understood of those, namely, who are imitators of carnal men, whose life and continence is corrupt, that there is none among them who does good. For as long as a man is evil, he cannot do good. But how far they had turned aside from the way of truth, the words that follow show. For it is said: Their throat is an open sepulchre: with their tongues they have dealt deceitfully; the venom of asps is under their lips. Well are they compared to an open sepulchre: for as a sepulchre lies open to receive dead bodies, so they gaped to attract simple souls to themselves, and to incorporate into themselves those slain by error.

And well, after saying "tongues," he added "their," to signify evil ones. For evil men have evil tongues. The Jews then dealt deceitfully with their tongues, when they asked the Lord whether it were lawful to give tribute to Caesar, or not. They had deceit indeed in their mouth, but they concealed the venom of malice in their heart: so that if he said, It is lawful, they would at once refute him from the law, in which it is commanded that God alone be served. Again if he said, It is not lawful: they had brought Herodians, who would at once seize him, and condemn him for forbidding the royal tribute. And rightly are they compared to the asp, because as the asp stops her ear against the voice of the charmer, so they stopped their ears against the voice of preaching. Whose mouth is full of cursing and bitterness: their feet are swift to shed blood.

Their mouth was full of cursing, when they said, Do we not say well, that thou art a Samaritan, and hast a devil? They were also filled with bitterness, when they said to Pilate, Crucify him. He is guilty of death. Their feet were swift to shed blood, when they led him outside the city and killed him. Whence they were crushed by their enemies, and brought to the misery of captivity. And therefore it is added: Destruction and unhappiness in their ways, and the way of peace they have not known. For if they had known it, they would never have crucified the Lord of glory. There is no fear of God before their eyes. This was the cause of the hardness of their heart, that they did not fear the Lord; therefore they hardened their hearts against believing, and it befell them according as it is written: But he that is of a hard mind, shall fall into evil. The prophet rebukes their malice, when he adds:

Shall not all they know that work iniquity, who devour my people as they eat bread? They did not know what they were doing, who slew the Lord. Whence he himself, praying, said: Father, forgive them, for they know not what they do. But they will know it at the judgment, when they shall see him whom they have pierced. When they shall behold the holy martyrs whom they slew, whom they are described as devouring as one devours the food of bread, that their affection may be denoted. For as bread is sweet to eat, so was the persecution of the saints sweet to them. Whence they are described not as eating, but as devouring; that thereby not only their will, but also their avidity, might be designated.

They have not called upon the Lord: there have they trembled for fear, where there was no fear. What wonder if they trembled, who did not call upon the Lord? Who is secure without the Lord? For they said: If we let him alone so, all will believe in him, and the Romans will come and take away from us both our place and nation. They feared to lose an earthly kingdom, where there was no fear: and they lost the kingdom of heaven, which they ought to have feared. And this is to be understood of all temporal advantages, whose loss men, while they fear, do not attain to eternal things. This also all who work iniquity will not know, which follows.

For the Lord is in the just generation. Not, of course, in the depraved one. Why is the Lord not in them? He adds the cause: You have confounded the counsel of the poor man: because the Lord is his hope. For you said: He trusts in God, let him deliver him now if he will. You despised the humble coming of the Son of God, because in it you did not see the pomp of the world. Because he hoped in God, he is despised by you, to whom earthly things are more pleasing than heavenly.

Who shall give the salvation of Israel out of Sion? It is understood: unless he whose humility you have despised? For he himself shall come in glory to judge the living and the dead, and to establish the kingdom of the just, so that, since by this humble coming blindness in part has happened to Israel, that the fullness of the Gentiles might enter in: by that other coming what follows may come to pass, and so all Israel might be saved. For the Apostle also took on behalf of the Jews that testimony of Isaiah, where it is said: There shall come out of Sion one who shall turn away ungodliness from Jacob. With this agrees what is said:

Who shall give the salvation of Israel out of Sion? When God shall have turned away the captivity of his people, Jacob shall rejoice, and Israel shall be glad. By Jacob are designated those who fight and struggle against vices. For Jacob is interpreted as "supplanter." But by Israel are understood those who, after the struggle against vices, have advanced to the contemplation of God: since Israel is said to mean "seeing God." As long as the body, which is corruptible, weighs down the soul, and the earthly dwelling presses down the mind that thinks many things, we are in captivity. But when God shall have turned away our captivity (which will happen when this corruptible thing shall have put on incorruption, and this mortal thing shall have put on immortality), then there will be exultation in body and in mind for those who have been spiritually Jacob, that is, who have supplanted vices. And there will be gladness in mind for those who have been spiritually Israel, who have burned in the love and contemplation of divinity.

There the labor of the just will be ended, love will be made perfect. There the active and the contemplative life will be rewarded with the joy of eternity. There the everlasting reward will be repaid to those advancing and to the perfect.

The fourteenth Psalm is entitled, A Psalm of David. Now our David is Christ, as we have often said. Then we read in Exodus, that on the fourteenth day the lamb is sacrificed, when the moon is full, when nothing is lacking to it of light. Therefore this psalm signifies to us a certain fullness of light, a certain blessed fullness, whose intent is to show us the royal way, by which through Christian warfare we may tend toward the fatherland. Now it speaks of the perfect commandments of justice, by which he teaches us that we can enter into heavenly things; to which he also adds lesser things, so that in them the weakness of beginners may exercise itself and be able to tend toward higher things. But now let us hear what the prophet says:

Lord, who shall dwell in thy tabernacle? Or who shall rest in thy holy mountain? Not first in the mountain, and afterward in the tabernacle: but first in the tabernacle, and afterward in the mountain. A tabernacle is not a firm house, it has no foundation: it is a thing of war, it is moved hither and thither, and migrates with the one migrating. It signifies the Church of the present age. For here we do not remain dwelling, but we are to migrate elsewhere. But mountains have firm foundations. Therefore by the name "mountain" the solidity of the future fatherland is designated. Since therefore we are to migrate from the tabernacles to the mountain, we ought to learn who they are who are to migrate to the holy mountain of God. Let us therefore hear, as the prophet asks, what the Holy Spirit answers.

He that walketh (it says) without blemish, and worketh justice. He that walketh is on the way. It does not say, he that has arrived at the end without blemish: but he who is still on the journey, and has no blemish. Someone could say: I have no blemish, I have done no evil. It is not enough for us not to do evil, unless we also do good. But who can be without blemish? Since the Apostle says, In many things we all offend. And, If we say that we have no sin, we deceive ourselves, and the truth is not in us. But with the merciful Lord he is reckoned without blemish, over whom fault does not yet reign through delight. Whence the same prophet, when he prayed to be cleansed from hidden and from others' sins, added: If they shall not have dominion over me, then shall I be without spot. Therefore the first entrance to justice is to keep oneself unspotted from sin: but prevention is to be perfect in good.

Let us therefore strive to walk without the blemish of sin, and to exercise the works of justice. Justice knows no father, knows no mother: it knows truth, it accepts no person, it imitates God.

Let us hear the works of justice, which follow: He that speaketh truth in his heart. Many speak truth with the lips, not in the heart: who seem to say what is true, but their heart does not agree with their lips. As if someone should craftily point out a road, knowing that there are robbers on it, and say, If you go this way, you will be safe from robbers, and it should happen that in fact no robbers are found: that man spoke the truth, but not in his heart. For he thought otherwise, and unknowingly spoke the truth. Therefore it is little to speak the truth, unless it is also so in the heart. He that hath not used deceit in his tongue. Deceit is practiced by the tongue, when one thing is uttered by the mouth, another is concealed in the heart. He does not practice deceit with his tongue, who has uttered in speech what he handled in his mind. Nor hath done evil to his neighbour.

We ought to understand "neighbor" as every man; and therefore it is written, What you would not have done to yourself, do not do to others: that we may do evil to no one, which indeed we do not wish to be done to us by anyone. And hath not taken up a reproach against his neighbours. A great thing is said. Never, it says, did his neighbor murmur against him. Never did he find any occasion for detracting from him. This virtue exceeds the human condition: it is the grace of God.

In his sight the malignant is brought to nothing. And whether he be an emperor, and whether he be a prefect; and whether he be a bishop, and whether he be a presbyter (for these are dignities in the Church), whoever is evil, is reckoned as nothing in the sight of the holy man. And immediately it follows: But he glorifieth them that fear the Lord. This holy man who walks without blemish, who despises the powerful, because they are evil: if he sees anyone fearing God, though he be poor, yet he glorifies him. Just as the foregoing pertain to the perfect, so what he is now about to say pertains to beginners.

He that sweareth to his neighbour, and deceiveth him not, he that hath not put out his money to usury, nor taken bribes against the innocent. Not swearing at all is the mark of the perfect. To be wary of deceit in an oath, even if it is not perfect virtue, is nevertheless some progress pertaining to beginners. Likewise, not putting one's money out to usury is not a great virtue, but it is nevertheless the beginning of virtue. For if we wish to be perfect, we ought to give away all our goods. Again: it is not a great thing not to take bribes against the innocent; for we ought, if we can, to free the innocent. What is it, then, that the Holy Spirit adds even the least of the perfect commandments, unless he intends mercifully to foster our weakness in this? So that, namely, if we cannot yet attain to perfect things, we may strive to exercise even small things, as far as we can.

For if, according to our ability, we tend from small things to greater ones, and if we cannot at once attain to those things which we desire: yet reward will not be able to be lacking to those who labor. Whence it also follows: He that doth these things shall not be moved for ever. That is, he shall arrive at those greater things, in which there is great and unshaken stability.

It used to be the custom in antiquity that, when someone had a triumph over his enemy, he would have an arch built for himself, which was called a triumphal arch: in which that victory was depicted. Likewise God the Father, through the victory of the passion, the devil now conquered, as it were a triumphal arch of the kingdom of the whole world now acquired for himself, caused a title to be affixed to the cross, Jesus of nazareth, King of the jews. The inscription of the title of this psalm is, A Psalm for David himself. Therefore he added "himself," because our King himself speaks in this psalm in the assuming of the human person, of whom the royal title, inscribed at the time of the passion, shone forth. Its intent is to invite us to his kingdom, which he acquired for us through his humanity, passion, resurrection, of which this treats. It says, then:

Preserve me, O Lord, for I have put my trust in thee. It was not necessary for him to pray for himself: for in that he was God, he was able to preserve himself. But just as he came to be incarnate for us, so the pious Redeemer deigned to pray for us, transfiguring us into his own person; because he willed to become one body with his Church. Therefore on behalf of his weak members, whom he transforms into himself, he says: Preserve me, O Lord, for I have put my trust in thee. For we, who are mere men, and lost through sin, need to be preserved by the Lord. For he himself is our hope, he himself is our God. We need his help, not he ours. Whence, continuing, he added:

I have said to the Lord, thou art my God, for thou hast no need of my goods. Because the Father first redeemed us through his Son, he did this by love alone, not by necessity. For his perfect glory can neither be increased nor diminished. Whence we ought all the more both to confess with the mouth, and to believe with the heart, our Lord God, and to hope in him, and to seek salvation from him, who indeed seeks not our goods, but rather bestows his own goods upon us. Whence it is also added:

To the saints, who are in his land, he hath made wonderful all my desires in them. To the saints who have placed their hope in the land of the living, citizens of the heavenly fatherland, whose spiritual manner of life is fixed by the anchor of hope in that fatherland, which is rightly called the land of God, although they dwell in the flesh in these earthly lands. To these saints he has made all my wills wondrous, in the advancement of those who have perceived what the humanity of my divinity has profited them, that I might die, and the divinity of my humanity, that I might rise again. And it should be noted that after he says, "He hath made my wills wonderful," he immediately adds, "in them": from which words it must be gathered that he showed his wills wonderful to the saints in such a way that he made them persevere in the same. For they could not have been saints, if they had disagreed with his known wills.

Which appears clearly enough from the following words, in which it is said:

Their infirmities are multiplied: afterwards they hastened. For the more the divine will is made plain, the more manifold does human infirmity appear. For from the rule of supernal justice the strength of our depravity is detected. Hence it is that the more subtly holy men perceive divine things, the more strictly do they bewail their own sins: and from the supernal light received they know what they ought to amend in themselves: and therefore it is said, Afterwards they hastened. For from the very place where they recognize their own infirmity, from there they hasten more quickly to salvation. And because they humbly confess themselves infirm and sinners, therefore they merit to be healed by the heavenly physician: for this reason it is added: I will not gather together their assemblies of blood; nor will I be mindful of their names by my lips. What is signified by the name of blood, but sins? Whence it is written: Flesh and blood shall not possess the kingdom of God.

And he well says, assemblies: for not all who lie under vices have one will in sinning; for some assemble for plunder, others for avarice, others for luxury, others for pride. As many as are the varieties of vices, so many are the diversities of assemblies. But the merciful Lord does not gather their assemblies of blood, because he does not accuse in judgment those who are converted to penance. But what are their names, of which he will not be mindful, except those names which they acquired for themselves by sinning? For he who commits adultery is not undeservedly called an adulterer; he who commits plunder, a plunderer; he who commits perjury, a perjurer; he who is proud, a proud man. He does not remember these names, if the faults for which they are named be corrected. Whence it is written: Overlooking the sins of men for the sake of repentance. Hence the Apostle says: If we judged ourselves, we should not indeed be judged.

Since therefore these are transferred into the inheritance of the Lord, so that the Lord himself may be their inheritance, it is rightly subjoined:

The Lord is the portion of my inheritance and of my cup: thou art he who wilt restore my inheritance to me. They shall possess the Lord himself as their inheritance together with me. Let others choose for themselves earthly and temporal portions to enjoy: the portion of the Saints is the eternal Lord. Let others drink deadly pleasures: the portion of my cup is the Lord. Thou wilt restore to me my inheritance: that the glory which was with thee before the world was made may be made known even to these whom I set free. The inheritance of the Lord had been destroyed, when human nature was both corrupted by vices and held possessed by the devil. The Saviour was sent, sins were blotted out, free will was restored, the prince of this world was cast out, infirmity was healed, the inheritance was restored. Whence it is also subjoined:

The lines have fallen unto me in goodly places: yea, my inheritance is goodly unto me. Just as we divide our inheritance by lines, so God divided his inheritance by faith, hope, and charity. Upon whomsoever these lines have fallen, they have come into the inheritance of the Lord. But they have fallen only upon those who are goodly, to whom heavenly splendor was more pleasing than earthly, spiritual virtues more than temporal honors. Many in this world flourish in riches, are preeminent in power, rejoice in honors, shine in temporal glory: they have splendor, but not a lasting one. But those who despise earthly things, who long for supernal glory, who burn for spiritual joys: these without doubt are goodly. Whence now he says: Yea, my inheritance is goodly unto me. And he well says, Unto me. For this spiritual inheritance is not goodly to those to whom it is not known. For if they knew this splendor which they love, they would not love a false one.

Therefore those who by his gift are able to understand invisible things ought to give thanks to the Lord: and so it is fittingly subjoined:

I will bless the Lord, who hath given me understanding. What he says, To me, we should understand of his members, who are joined to him in the unity of the body. That they knew the Lord not, that despising temporal things they understood spiritual things, was not their own virtue, but the gift of God. Whence when Peter said: Thou art the Christ, the Son of the living God, lest he should attribute this understanding to himself, he immediately heard: Blessed art thou, Simon Bar-Jona, for flesh and blood hath not revealed it to thee, but my Father who is in heaven. Therefore the prophet elsewhere asks, saying, Give me understanding, and I will search thy law. But now the Lord's passion is commended to us, when it is subjoined: Moreover, even until night my reins have chastened me.

Moreover, for this shall I bless the Lord, that my reins, that is, the Jews, from whose loins my fathers came, and from whose flesh I was born, by chastening and blaspheming even unto death, drove me even into hell. And he well says, Moreover. For it is a greater virtue to bless the Lord in adversity than in prosperity. When God bestows his good things upon men, both the good and the wicked are wont to bless him. When he inflicts scourges, the wicked indeed murmur, but the good bless him. To this therefore this verse instructs us, that we may praise God in his gifts, lest we be ungrateful: and moreover in scourges, that we may be perfect: that there may be fulfilled in us what we read in another psalm: I will bless the Lord at all times.

With this sentence the words that follow agree. For he says: I foresaw the Lord always in my sight: for he is at my right hand, that I be not moved. Blessed is the man who always foresees God in his sight. He is neither exalted in prosperity, nor broken in adversity. In all things which we do, which we speak, which we think, if we always foresee God, we do not offend. Hence it is written, In all thy ways think on him. And rightly is the Father said to be at the right hand of the Son: since the Son is equal to the Father. From thence he drew such strength, that placed in his passion through his human form he could by no means be moved. But if, by the example of our Redeemer, we always foresee the Lord in our sight, so that neither by love nor by fear of anything we may discord from his will: he will indeed be at our right hand, that we be not moved.

For he himself says, Behold, I am with you all days, even to the consummation of the world.

Therefore my heart hath been glad, and my tongue hath rejoiced: moreover my flesh also shall rest in hope. What is commended by the gladness of the heart and the rejoicing of the tongue, but interior and exterior gladness? He who has God at his right hand ought to rejoice inwardly in conscience, outwardly on the tongue. Hence it is said elsewhere, Let the heart of them that seek the Lord rejoice. But what he says, And my flesh shall rest in hope: signifies the Lord's body dead, and laid in the sepulchre, and about to rise on the third day. But if we rejoice spiritually, and imitate our Head through his passion, we have a sure hope, that we shall rise together with him.

Because thou wilt not leave my soul in hell: nor wilt thou suffer thy holy one to see corruption. Thou wilt neither allow my soul to remain in the nether regions, nor wilt thou suffer the sanctified body, through which others also are to be sanctified, to be corrupted. And this was the disposition and grace of almighty God, that the soul of Christ should not tarry long in hell, nor his body remain so long lifeless upon earth, that it should be corrupted. For if he had delayed, all our hope would have perished. He willed therefore to rise without delay, and to have men as witnesses of his own resurrection, as it is written, And many bodies of the saints which had slept arose with him; that we, confirmed by such testimonies, might believe the true resurrection in ourselves, both of body and of soul: if we, made members of him, keep the way that leads to our fatherland. Whence it is subjoined:

Thou hast made known to me the ways of life: thou shalt fill me with joy with thy countenance: at thy right hand are delights even to the end. First the Head itself of life knew the ways, which it showed to us both by deeds and preached by words. What are his ways, by which we tend to life, but humility, charity, patience, obedience, and the other virtues? To these ways the prophet exhorts us, saying: Prepare ye the way of the Lord, make straight his paths. Hence the Truth itself says, Come to me, all you who labor and are burdened, and I will refresh you. Well therefore does he say, Thou shalt fill me with joy with thy countenance. For there is no full joy with this world. Whence it is written, Woe to you that laugh now. There is no full joy here, neither for the good nor for the wicked. For tribulation is common to both. Holy men, although they rejoice in hope, still groan in tribulation.

But then they will be full of joy, when they shall see God face to face. And delights at their right hand even to the end: because those who shall be at his right hand will rejoice without end. Their delights will be of the vision of the Lord, of the fellowship of angels, of blessed immortality, of eternal happiness. Let us then strive to observe the ways of life, that we may be able to arrive at so great a joy, and at such great delights.

The title of this Psalm is, A Prayer of David himself. It is attributed to David himself as signified, who indeed came as a strong hand to overthrow the aerial powers. But since in very many other psalms prayers are also contained, it seems strange why in this psalm rather than in others he should have applied such a title. But although other psalms briefly contain prayers mingled within themselves, this one nevertheless, by a certain excellence, is principally called a prayer, because at the time of his approaching passion Christ sang this prayer to his Lord. He intends, however, to instruct us in this psalm, that after his example we should always strive to pray in our necessities. It treats of the justice of Christ, of the tribulation of his passion, of the resurrection, of the satisfaction and manifestation of heavenly glory. The voice of Christ, speaking in his own person:

Hear, O Lord, my justice: attend to my supplication: give ear unto my prayer, not uttered with deceitful lips. The Mediator of God and men, the man Christ Jesus, how just and how without sin he was, sacred Scripture testifies: which says, Who did no sin, neither was guile found in his mouth (Peter 2). Some say that between supplication and prayer this difference exists, that supplication is for the avoidance of adversities, but prayer for the obtaining of useful things. Yet both are used indifferently in many places. But thus he says, Attend and Give ear, as if he were to say: Take what you hear, retain what you understand. He puts forward, therefore, the justice of his work and the purity of his heart, that in petition and prayer he may be worthily heard by the Father.

He prays well who so prepares himself for prayer, that he may be able in prayer to put forward his own justice, and presume to ask nothing except what may justly be granted: and strives to pray not only for his own benefit and that of his friends, but even for that of his enemies. Therefore he says that he prays not with deceitful lips. For lips would be deceitful, if the words were at variance with the intention or with equity. Let my judgment come forth from thy countenance: let thy eyes behold the things that are equitable. He knows his heart to be pure, who refers his judgment to God. We know that Christ the Lord was unjustly judged by the Jews. But in that very matter wherein they judged him openly, they themselves were judged secretly. From the countenance of God comes forth the judgment, whereby he justly condemned those who judged unjustly.

Let the judges of men therefore fear, because above themselves they have God as judge: whose eyes behold equity, that nothing may remain unpunished, and that he may render to the deserving according to their deserts. And this indeed is said both for the fear of the wicked and for the consolation of the good: as it is said elsewhere, Vengeance is mine, and I will repay, saith the Lord. Holy men ought therefore always to examine their heart, that they may keep it proven before the eyes of God, lest he whose eyes behold equity be able to see in them any reproach: so that, being placed at some time in tribulation, they may be able to say with their Head that which follows.

Thou hast proved my heart, and visited it by night: thou hast tried me by fire, and iniquity hath not been found in me. God the Father proved the Son, when he permitted him to suffer: he visited him by night, because he helped him in tribulation: he tried him by the fire of the passion, because thence he transferred him to incorruption. And iniquity was not found in him, because (as we have already said above) he did no sin (Peter 2). We too are proved by God, as often as we are afflicted with tribulations. Whence it is written: The Lord tried his elect as gold in the furnace. But in the night of tribulation the grace of visitation is not lacking, as the Apostle bears witness, who says, God is faithful, who will not permit us to be tempted above what we are able to bear: but will also make with the temptation a way of escape. By this fire he tries us, that he may render us clean of the stains of sins.

Tribulation is therefore useful to the servants of God, both because they are proved in their heart, and because they are visited by God, and because they are purged from sin. There was not, he says, found in me iniquity.

That my mouth may not speak the works of men: for the sake of the words of thy lips, I have kept hard ways. He was worthy to speak of the works of men, who had no sin in himself. And so much the more justly ought he to be heard by all, as he could justly be reproved by none. Those also who hold the place of Christ in preaching ought, so far as they are able, to live irreprehensibly: because the word of a teacher is greatly disgraced, if it is depraved by his conduct. But if for the sake of the words of the lips of God we must keep hard ways, the Lord consoles us with apostolic authority, saying, The sufferings of this time are not worthy to be compared with the glory to come, which shall be revealed in us. He kept hard ways, who was obedient even unto death.

To forsake the world, to tame the flesh, to punish sins with tears, to bear adversities and hardships for God's sake: these are the hard ways which the Lord's lips prescribe for us. But if what is commanded is hard, wonderful are the things promised. For neither hath eye seen, nor ear heard, nor hath it entered into the heart of man, what God hath prepared for them that love him. Let us therefore firmly hold the way, that we may be able to arrive at our homeland. And therefore it is added:

Perfect my goings in thy paths, that my footsteps may not be moved. What do we understand by goings, but the acts of good works? What by paths, but the narrow and strait ways of the perfect commandments of God? He had perfect goings in the paths of the Lord, who said, I came not to destroy the law, but to fulfil it. His footsteps were not moved, because he did not depart from the way of truth: whence he himself says, I must be about my Father's business. We too have perfect goings in the paths of the Lord, if we so fulfil the perfect things he commands, that we remain immovable in them. For it does not suffice to do perfect things, unless it happens that we remain firmly in them. Paul had perfect goings, when he said, I have fought the good fight, I have finished the course, I have kept the faith. He had firm footsteps, when he said, Who shall separate us from the love of God? Tribulation? Or distress? Or famine? Or nakedness?

Or peril? Or the sword? We know that neither things present, nor things to come, nor any creature, shall be able to separate us from the love of God which is in Christ Jesus. But if we have any good in us, we ought to ascribe it to God, not to ourselves, who freely gives to him who asks, as Truth itself says: Ask, and ye shall receive. Whence he now adds:

I have cried, because thou hast heard me, O God: incline thy ear unto me, and hear my words. The cry to the Lord is our desire. The more each one desires, the more he cries. But what is the ear which God inclines to us sinners, but his own mercy? For unless he is inclined to mercy, we are not raised up to justice. But what is meant by his saying that he has already been heard, and yet still seeks that his words be heard? Perhaps he was heard as to one thing, and not as to another. He was heard in himself, and is yet to be heard in his members.

To this pertain the words that follow: Show forth thy wonderful mercies: thou who savest them that hope in thee. For God to make his mercies wonderful, is to make just out of unjust. Who would not marvel at the mercies of the Lord in the thief, in Paul, in the sinful woman, in the publican? When for the love of God the miser despises those things which are of the world, when the proud is turned to humility, the wrathful to gentleness, the luxurious to chastity, has not God made his mercies wonderful? When he brings back the despairing to hope, when he grants eternal rewards to the sinner who had deserved eternal punishments, has not God made his mercies marvellous? Whence he immediately adds:

From them that resist thy right hand, keep me as the pupil of the eye. Christ is called the pupil of the eye, because he is both dearer than all, and the light by which all are illumined. He himself is also the right hand of God, because he is equal to the Father, and all things were made through him. By the right hand and the pupil the elect also can be understood, because through them God works mighty things, and they themselves are the light of the world. The resisting ones are the unfaithful and the persecutors. The Son therefore asks the Father to defend him from those who resist him, lest injustice oppress justice, lest unfaithfulness corrupt faith. Thus we, after the example of our Head, ought to pray to the Lord, that he keep us, lest any assailing adversity break us, lest any confronting temptation seduce us, which might withdraw us from beneath the wings of his protection.

Therefore it is added: Protect me under the shadow of thy wings, from the face of the wicked who have afflicted me. The love of God and neighbor, the New and Old Testament. Justice, charity, and the other virtues, are the wings of God, by which holy souls can fly to God. These spiritual wings both cool the heat of vices and temper the affliction of the wicked. By these wings the Lord Christ was protected when he was afflicted by the wicked Jews: concerning whom he still adds:

My enemies have surrounded my soul: they have shut up their fat, their mouth hath spoken pride. These things were done in the passion of Christ. The Jews surrounded the soul of Christ, for they wished to destroy his life. They have shut up their fat, that is, they held within themselves the abundance of their pride. Their mouth hath spoken pride, when they said, Hail, King of the Jews, and other such things.

Casting me forth, now they have surrounded me. Before, they believed he would come, as they had read in their Scriptures: now, when he came to fulfill what he had promised, when they ought to have received him, adored him, they cast him outside the camp, and crucified him. They have set their eyes to bend down to the earth. Because they judged him not God, but merely a man.

They have taken me as a lion ready for prey. Comparable to that lion, of whom it is written, Your adversary the devil, as a roaring lion, goeth about seeking whom he may devour (1 Peter 5). And as a lion's whelp dwelling in secret places. The lion's whelp and son is that people, to whom it was said, Your father is the devil. And he says well, dwelling in secret places: for he who does evil hates the light. After so great a persecution, he continued and added:

Arise, O Lord, disappoint him, and supplant him: deliver my soul from the wicked one, thy sword from the enemies of thy hand. Arise, whom they think to be asleep, and not to care for the iniquities of men: let malice first be exercised, that the deed may forestall vengeance. Or, for him to forestall that people, is to turn the punishment of evil back upon it before it falls upon another. According to what is written, Every one that sins, sins against no one before himself. Or the Lord forestalls him, because before the last judgment he judged him even temporally. For he cast them out of their land, whence he says, And supplant him. For they were uprooted from that land flowing with milk and honey, in which God had planted them. But he delivered the soul of Christ from the wicked people, when he raised him from the dead.

His soul was the sword of God the Father, which the hand assumed, that is, his eternal power: that through it he might overthrow the kingdoms of iniquity, and divide the just from the wicked. O Lord, divide them from a few of the land in their life. Scatter them through the whole earth in this life, which alone they think is their life, because they despise the eternal one. And he says well, from a few: because the Jewish people are fewer in number than every other people. Their malice is further shown, when he adds, And their belly is filled from thy hidden stores. Not only shall this visible punishment overtake them, but also from sins, which are hidden like darkness, from the light of thy truth, their memory has been filled, so that they forget God. They are filled with children: they have satisfied their desires. And they have left their leftovers to their little ones: saying, His blood be upon us and upon our children.

But I in justice will appear before thy sight. I, who did not appear to those who, with sordid and darkened heart, cannot see the light of thy wisdom, shall appear in thy justice, that is, I shall be made manifest to thy just ones. I shall be satisfied when thy glory shall appear. Since they are satisfied with their own uncleanness, so that they could not understand me, I shall be satisfied when thy glory shall appear, in those who understand me. Let our prayer therefore tend to this, and the affection of our devotion, our works, the exercises of our patience, that we may be able to be satisfied with the glory of the Lord. Let our Redeemer be to us an example, for praying, for working, for suffering: and let him also be our companion for rejoicing.

The title of the following Psalm is this: Unto the end, for the servant of the Lord, for David himself, who spoke to the Lord the words of this canticle, in the day that the Lord delivered him from the hand of Saul, and from the hand of all his enemies. "The words of this canticle," that is, words signifying such matter, whence there is to be had a canticle, that is, a spiritual delight, which is had in true contemplation, are to be attributed to David, that is, to him strong of hand, to Christ the servant of the Lord on account of simplicity and purity. I say David, directing his faithful ones "unto the end," that is, unto the supreme good: which words he spoke to the Lord the Father in his eternal utterance.

I say of the canticle had "in the day," that is, in the consideration of the day of his own resurrection, or the consideration of the time of the fullness, in which the human race, through the resurrection of Christ, was to go forth from the night of unbelief and ignorance and sins, to the light of knowledge, and faith, and virtues. In which day of the resurrection, or of the fullness of time, the Lord delivered him from the hand of all his enemies, and from the hand of Saul, that is, from the power of the Jews, and of their king whom they themselves asked for. For as David is said to be interpreted "strong of hand," so Saul is said to be interpreted "petition/request." Let Christ, then, and the Church speak, that is, the whole Christ, head and body.

I will love thee, O God, my strength. The Lord is my firmament, and my refuge, and my deliverer. This is the great cause for which God is to be loved: because he himself is our strength. The charity of God, poured forth in our hearts through the Holy Spirit, who has been given to us, makes us strong to endure the adversities of the world, and to overcome the vices and temptations of the devil, to practice spiritual goods, and to despise earthly goods. For this also the Lord is to be loved, because he himself is our firmament, in whom we have a firm foundation, lest we be moved by the winds of temptation: and our refuge, to whom we flee, lest we perish in this misery: and our deliverer, that being freed by him from the slavery of the devil and of sin, we may come to true liberty.:3. My God is my helper, and I will hope in him. My God, because he created me out of nothing.

My helper, because he assists me in good work: and therefore I will hope in him, through whom I shall be saved in the future. This is the difference between God and Lord, that God is the name of nature, and Lord is the name of office. The former pertains to the majesty and dignity which he himself is: the latter pertains to the power and dominion which he exercises over us. There it is shown to us what we should love, here what we should fear. In both, what we should believe, what we should hope, what we should love. And in the first verse charity and faith are commended to us: but in the second, hope. And not without reason is charity placed first, because she herself is the queen of the virtues, she is the beginning of good things, and the root of the virtues. But let us hear what follows, and what stirs us to love God. My protector, and the horn of my salvation, and my supporter.

For he protects us from evils, and as a horn stands out prominently, so he, standing forth as our salvation, like a physician for healing the weak, has taken us up. Whence the Son himself was compared to the good shepherd carrying back the weak sheep: and therefore,

Praising, I will call upon the Lord, and I shall be saved from my enemies. Behold how great is the benefit of praising God. If both in prosperity and in adversity you have praised God with your whole heart, no enemy will be able to harm you. For so many and such great goods which the kind Lord confers upon us daily, we have nothing we can repay except praise. Now the praise of God confers a twofold gift upon man: both because in the praise of man God is honored, and because by the merit of that very praise man is freed from evils. Whence the Lord himself in another psalm admonishes us, saying, Offer to God the sacrifice of praise, and pay your vows to the Most High, and call upon me in the day of tribulation, and I will deliver you.

The sorrows of death surrounded me. That is, the Jews bringing upon me the anguish of the passion. And the torrents of iniquity troubled me: for behold, a crowd, and he who was called Judas, came. There came a torrent and the onslaught of wicked men to trouble the flock of the disciples, because, the shepherd being struck, the sheep of the flock would be scattered.

The sorrows of hell surrounded me. That is, those whom the sorrows of hell await. The snares of death overtook me: for with swords and clubs they came upon him from every side. They are called the snares of death because diabolical deceptions were in them. But surrounded by such great persecutors, beset by so many sorrows and disturbances, let us hear what he did who could with a single word have condemned all and freed himself from every anguish.

In my tribulation I called upon the Lord, and I cried out to my God—he does not avenge himself, but prays. Your emperor teaches you patience. If the sorrows of death, the disturbances of iniquity, surround you, consider how much your Redeemer endured, and by his example bear all things patiently. Within, in your heart, call upon the Lord, and with the whole affection of your heart cry out to your God. For in him is power and divinity. Whence he is rightly called Lord and God: whose dominion and the sway of divinity can snatch the oppressed from every tribulation. Whence it is written, In whatever tribulation they shall cry out to me, I will deliver them, says the Lord. Well therefore it is added, And he heard my voice from his holy temple: and my cry came in before him, into his ears. The temple of God is Christ. The temple of God is the Church. Hence Paul says, The temple of God is holy, which you are.

This spiritual temple God inhabits, and there he hears the voices of those who pray. And it is to be noted that he says, And my cry in his sight: for there indeed one must pray, where God is seen. Hence it is said in the Gospel, But when you pray, enter into your chamber, and having shut the door, pray to your Father in secret: and your Father who sees in secret will repay you. Thus therefore we ought to cry out, that the Lord may see our cry, and that it may enter into his ears: which cry indeed is not so much of the voice as of the heart. Whence it is said to Moses, Why do you cry out to me? The desire of our mind is a cry in the sight of God. But let us hear what follows next.

The earth was moved and trembled: the foundations of the mountains were troubled, and were moved, because he was angry with them. If we take this according to the letter, when the Lord suffered a great earthquake occurred, and even the insensible elements themselves gave testimony to their own author. But if by the earth we understand the earthly hearts of carnal men, and by the foundations of the mountains, the princes of the peoples—because indeed the rest were founded upon them, as upon foundations—after they, through the preaching of the Apostles, recognized that they had incurred the wrath of almighty God, because they had crucified his Son, being troubled and terrified on account of their guilt, they were at once moved to penance. And they are recorded as saying, as if moved, when Peter rebuked them, Men and brethren, what shall we do? To whom counsel was given, that through the laver of regeneration they might receive remission of sins.

Of whom it is further added, There went up a smoke in his wrath, and a fire flared up from his face: coals were kindled by it. What is his face, but knowledge of him? What is the smoke which stirs up tears, but does it not signify the tearful compunction of penitents? Fearing his wrath, they washed away their guilt with tears. And whence they came to know God through faith, thence, having received the Spirit, they burned sweetly in his love. And they were kindled by him, so that those who before lay dead as sinners in the flesh, like coals in ashes, now stand forth burning. From these words, then, we are instructed, that by compunction the divine fire is kindled, which illumines the inner parts of the mind, and utterly destroys the blackness of sins: and the order in which these things came about, which are foretold, is shown in the words that follow.

He bowed the heavens and came down, and darkness was under his feet. First he sent holy and chosen men to preach his humble coming, whom then he followed, coming down through himself. For the Word was made flesh, and dwelt among us. Whence he appeared humble in the flesh, thence he laid low the prince of darkness in every kind of subjection, and gave him to be trampled underfoot by his Church. Whence the Apostle says, The Lord will crush Satan under your feet swiftly. But he who was made a little lower than the angels through his humanity, was declared far more exalted than the angels through his divinity. Whence it is added:

And he ascended upon the Cherubim, and flew. For in that he is God, he surpassed the angelic dignities themselves in fullness of knowledge. He flew upon the wings of the winds: because by the height of his divinity he transcends the powers of the heavenly spirits; for to which of the angels did God ever say, Sit at my right hand, or, This day have I begotten you? He flew therefore upon the wings of the winds, because he alone merited to sit at the right hand of the Father.

And he made darkness his hiding-place. Namely the obscurity of the sacraments, and the hidden hope in the heart of believers: where he himself might lie hidden, without forsaking his own. He made darkness his hiding-place, because he established his heavenly sacrament for us in obscurity. Hence it is that we handle the sacrament of the body and blood of Christ daily: and yet we are not yet able to see with our eyes either the light or the glory of him which we believe by faith. For we are in darkness so long as we walk by faith, and not by sight. His tabernacle is round about him. For he is surrounded by the multitude of believers. And rightly is the Church, set in this pilgrimage, called the tabernacle of God, because a tabernacle has no foundation, but belongs to those who are on campaign and passing through. And the Apostle said, For here we have no abiding city, but we seek one that is to come. Dark water in the clouds of the air.

Because obscure is the knowledge in the prophets, who are rightly called clouds of the air, because they are lifted up into heavenly things through their life, and pour out below the rain of doctrine. At first indeed the divine word was obscure in the holy fathers. All things were covered under figure and shadow. The Spirit had not yet been given for manifestation, because Jesus had not yet been glorified. But then came the heavenly brightness, he who is the true light, who illumines every man coming into this world. He removed the darkness, expounded the Scriptures, sent forth preachers, terrified and illumined the hearts of hearers. Whence it is added:

Before the brightness in his sight the clouds passed, hail and coals of fire. Before the greatness of the brightness which is in the sight of his manifestation, the clouds—that is, the Apostles, illumined by the divine light—passed from the Jews to the Gentiles: as it is written, To you it was necessary first that the kingdom of God be preached, but because you have rejected it, and have judged yourselves unworthy of eternal life, behold, we turn to the Gentiles. And they themselves became hail and coals of fire, crying out, threatening, casting fire everywhere, preaching the coming judgment, kindling human hearts with the ardor of faith.

And the Lord thundered from heaven, and the Most High gave his voice: hail and coals of fire. After he has said Lord, he adds, Most High: so that you may understand that the God of gods, the Lord of lords, spoke through himself. For at first he spoke through the patriarchs and prophets, through the ancient fathers: then through himself. Even the very preaching of the Apostles was not so much Apostolic as it was of the Lord. As the Lord himself testifies, saying, For it is not you who speak, but the Spirit of your Father who speaks in you. It is as if the Lord thunders, when he terrifies us concerning his judgment. It is as if he gives his voice, when he humbly soothes. There seems to be a certain terrifying thunder in what is said through John, Brood of vipers, who has shown you to flee from the wrath to come? It is as if he gives his voice, when it is added, Bring forth fruits worthy of penance.

According to the capacity, therefore, of the hearers, the Lord now thunders in threatening, now as hail, battering, now as fire, kindling.

And he sent forth his arrows, namely the Evangelists, flying by a straight path on the wings of virtues, not by their own strength but by the strength of him by whom they were sent. And he scattered them—those to whom they were sent—so that to some of them they were the odor of life unto life, to others the odor of death unto death. He multiplied lightnings. That is, flashing miracles. And he troubled them. A good troubling, unto penance.

And the fountains of waters appeared. That is, the gifts of the Holy Spirit, from which all spiritual knowledge proceeds. Or by the fountains of waters may be understood the Old and New Testament: which appeared to the hearers, he himself revealing them, who holds the key of knowledge. For these are indeed the spiritual fountains which send forth from themselves the other rivulets of the Scriptures. And the foundations of the world were revealed. The Prophets were revealed, who were not understood: upon whom the world believing in the Lord was to be built. But in what order these things were done is shown, when it is added: At thy rebuke, O Lord, at the blast of the breath of thy wrath. Of him saying, Unless you do penance, you shall all likewise perish. After he had said, Rebuke, he added, Breath. For then we are profitably rebuked outwardly, when we are inwardly inspired, that we may fear.

Here, he says, Christ sent from on high: that is, from the bosom of the Father. And he took me. That is, took the head of the Church into equality with himself, at his right hand. And he assumed me. That is, my Church, which is my body. From many waters. Because he established me from many peoples: or because he drew me out from many vices: or because he freed me from many tribulations. And this is what follows:

He delivered me from my strongest enemies. Who are these strongest enemies, but the malignant spirits? Without doubt we could not escape their strength, unless God, more powerful than all, had deigned to snatch us frail ones away. And from them that hated me, for they had grown strong over me. Understand: he delivered me. Who are these that hate the Church, but unbelievers and heretics? Who at times grew so strong that they even slew certain of the elect in the flesh, and at other times made them err in the faith. But the merciful Lord deigned to deliver them, crowning the slain, and leading back to the way of truth those who erred. Whence it is also added:

They prevented me in the day of my affliction. That is, they prevailed against me in the time of tribulation and persecution. And the Lord became my protector. That is, protecting me from the assault of persecutors.

And because I was suffering carnal straits, He brought me out into the spiritual breadth of faith. He made me safe, because he willed me. By no merits of mine preceding, but by his sole benevolence. For it is he who works in us both to will and to work, according to good will.

And the Lord will reward me according to my justice, and according to the purity of my hands he will reward me. There are two things in man, according to which the Lord rewards: namely, according to the justice of good will and faith, and according to the purity of good works. Nor can good works be pure, unless they derive from a right intention. Whence it is written, The Lord had respect to Abel, and to his offerings. He first indeed approved the devotion of faith, whence afterward he accepted the offering of the sacrifice. And deservedly he will reward me:

For I have kept the ways of the Lord. That is, by persevering I have preserved the breadth of good works.

Nor have I done wickedly against my Lord. That is, after I had approached him by doing good, I did not withdraw from him by living wickedly. Hence it is said of the holy animals by the prophet, They returned not when they went, but every one went straight before its face. Thus surely our journeys ought to be directed to God, so that they may not be further twisted aside to depraved work. Nor is it any wonder if he kept the ways of the Lord, and did not act wickedly against his God: for it follows, For all his judgments are before me. That is, both the rewards of the just and the punishments of the wicked, and the scourges of those to be corrected, and the trials of those to be tested, I consider with persevering contemplation. For to guard justice, and to avoid wickedness, it is very useful to weigh carefully the last things. Whence it is written, In all thy works remember thy last end, and thou shalt never sin.

Rightly, therefore, it is added, And his justices I have not put away from me. Unlike those who believe for a time, and in time of temptation fall away. Concerning whom the Apostle Peter says, For it is better not to have known the way of truth, than after having known it, to turn back.

And I shall be spotless with him, as regards the delight of evil thought. And I will keep myself from my iniquity. That is, from the iniquity of action. Such ought to be our zeal, our desire: that we may be spotless within, and blameless without: so that we may obtain the eternal reward, of which he adds:

And the Lord will reward me, according to my justice. Not only on account of the breadth of faith, but on account of the length of perseverance. And according to the purity of my hands in the sight of his eyes. Not as men see, but as he himself sees. For the things which are seen are temporal; but the things which are not seen are eternal. And man sees the face, God sees the heart. The works of the good, too, are always in the sight of God, but he does not regard the works of the wicked. Whence it is said elsewhere, The Lord knows the way of the just, but the way of the wicked he does not know.

These things which have gone before, the Church says, to rouse us and advance us toward right faith, sure hope, good work, eternal reward. Whence now she admonishes each of us, saying, With the holy thou shalt be holy, and with the innocent man thou shalt be innocent. And with the elect thou shalt be elect, and with the perverse thou shalt be perverted. Attend to him who is holy of holies, who is holy in himself, and can sanctify others. Who is truly innocent, the lamb without blemish: who, when he was cursed, did not curse back: when he suffered, did not threaten. Who is elect of God the Father, as it is written, This is my beloved Son, in whom I am well pleased. Join yourself to him, imitate him, let it be good for you to cleave to God, and you shall be holy with the holy, innocent with the innocent, elect with the elect. But if you have loved the fellowship of the perverse, you too shall be likewise perverted.

Behold, two ways are shown to you: one of the just, the other of the reprobate: one of salvation, the other of damnation: one which the humble hold, and are exalted by God; the other which the proud hold, and are humbled by God. Whence it is also added:

For thou wilt save the humble people, and wilt humble the eyes of the proud. Keep humility, therefore, recognize yourself as dust and ashes, confess your sins, be vile in your own eyes, so that you may deserve to be saved with the humble people. Beware of the haughtiness of the eyes, lest you seem to yourself glorious, wise, great, lest where you have seen yourself exalted, there he who humbles the eyes of the proud may cast you down. Whence it is written, Woe to you that are wise in your own eyes, and prudent in your own conceits. Let your eye, therefore, be single, that your whole body may be lightsome: and say what follows:

For thou dost light my lamp, O Lord: my God, enlighten my darkness. Because thou hast enlightened me in those things which I know, enlighten me in those which I know not. Or, because thou hast lit my lamp, giving faith, enlighten the darkness of my works: that what I hold by believing, I may follow by doing. What are our darknesses, but iniquities and negligences? We have come into such blindness, that we do not know ourselves, nor do we quickly perceive the evils we do. Whence we must ask of the Lord, that he enlighten our darkness, that he make us see our sins and crimes: so that by weeping and doing penance we may be able to amend our life.

For in thee I shall be delivered from temptation, and in my God I shall pass over the wall. In thee, he says, I shall be delivered, not in myself: for in myself I am weak, but in thee strong. Thou alone art he who delivers from temptation, who casts out the prince of this world, who dost not permit thy servants to be tempted above what they are able to bear: but makest even from the temptation a way of escape. In thee I shall pass over the wall, whether it be hardness of heart, or the obstacle of sins, which the devil set against me, lest I might come to thee. We pass over the wall in our God, as often as, through his grace inspired in us, we overcome the mass of vices.

Here the Church begins to commend her God, saying, As for my God, his way is undefiled: the words of the Lord are tried by fire: he is the protector of all that trust in him. And thus she says: This my God is not like the others; for his way is undefiled, his words are tried in tribulation, his hope is sure and firm, who protects those who trust in him, lest they fail in temptation. What is so undefiled, so pure, as the power of God, and the wisdom of God, Christ? Who says, I am the way. Let us hold, then, to this way, and we shall be cleansed; let us keep his words, and we shall not err; let us fix our hope in him, and we shall walk secure under his protection. And rightly must hope be placed in him:

For who is God but the Lord? Or who is God but our God? God, who created us, God, who rules us, God whom we love, the Lord whom we fear. If we should find such a one, or a better, perhaps hope should be placed in him. But since he is better and more sublime than all (as he himself says, I am the Lord, and there is no other, besides me there is no God), it remains that our hope stay fixed in him alone.

Who has girded me with strength. Namely, with faith, hope, and charity. And made my way spotless. That is, that I may live innocently. And note that he does not say, He girded me, but He girded me beforehand. It is indeed a great gift of the almighty God, when one is girded before he is loosened toward vices. Nor is it a wonder if he made their way spotless, whom he girded in such a manner: because where the girdle of virtues goes before, the stains and wantonness of vices cannot impede. Hence it is that the Lord bids us gird our loins, that each should restrain himself against vices before he falls, loosened and encumbered.

Who has made my feet like the feet of harts. That is, the affections of the mind, by which as by feet I am sustained and make progress, in order to pass over the thorny and shadowy entanglements of this age. And setting me upon high places. That is, upon the heavenly kingdoms, where is the dwelling of the Saints. Whence the Apostle says, But our conversation is in heaven. Thus, without doubt, we ought to order our affections and the steps of our works in this earth, so that, treading down the thorny desires of this age, we may strive to establish our mind in the heavens.

Who teaches my hands for battle. Who teaches me to work so as to overcome the enemies, who strive to shut us off from the heavenly kingdoms. And you have made my arms as a bow of bronze. That is, the untiring intention of good works. It is the practice of the prophets to change person quickly. Now the prophet, or the Church, speaks to God, now to the neighbor. To God, evidently, from whom he received what he speaks. To the neighbor, to whom he expends what he received. It does not suffice us to have right steps for pursuing justice, unless we have hands taught for the fight. For justice cannot be retained without a fight. Now there are many kinds of battles: for we have a struggle against principalities and powers, the rulers of darkness. We have a fight against the world: there is in us a discord between flesh and spirit.

Against these we must be taught for battle, and fight with the arms of justice on the right hand and on the left: and have a strong and inflexible intention, like a bow of bronze, for striking and putting the enemy to flight. And rightly are intentions compared to arms, because just as strength is in the arms, and the hands are joined to the arms: so our intention ought to be strong, and from it vigorous action should proceed. But because we are frail, and our enemies are stronger than we: it is needful that what follows be done for us:

And you have given me the protection of your salvation, and your right hand has upheld me. The Lord gives to his elect his salvation, that he may protect them, as though naked. He gives his right hand, that is, the favor of his grace, whereby he may take them up, as a physician takes up the sick. If you fear the heats of vices, and the darts of invisible enemies, or the adversities of persecuting men: ask for the protection of divine salvation. If you feel yourself a sinner and weak, corrupted by many vices and negligences: ask for God's mercy, and his uplifting right hand, that you may be taken up and healed by him. For he himself is the true salvation, who protects his own from outward persecution. He is the uplifting mercy, who takes up and heals from the very weakness of body and soul.

And because those whom he protects and heals he sometimes usefully scourges, it is rightly added: And your discipline has corrected me unto the end, and your discipline itself will teach me. In this it appears that the heavenly Father loves us, because he has deigned to give us discipline. Hence sacred Scripture admonishes us saying, Son, do not neglect the discipline of your father, and do not be wearied when reproved by him. For whom the Lord loves, he chastens: he scourges every son whom he receives. Now this discipline of the Lord is useful for two things; it corrects morals, it teaches knowledge. God's discipline makes a man well-behaved, well-taught. And thus it corrects and teaches, so as to send him to the end, that is, into Christ, who is the end of labor and the reward of the work.

Doubtless it was by this discipline that he was corrected and taught who said: We glory in tribulations, knowing that tribulation works patience, patience proof, proof hope, and hope does not confound: because the charity of God is poured out in our hearts through the Holy Spirit, who has been given to us. Whence it is fittingly added:

You have enlarged my steps under me. Let not carnal narrownesses impede, since you have made my charity broad, working cheerfully, even from those mortal things and members which are beneath me. And my footsteps have not been weakened. That is, the signs which I have impressed for you to be imitated. He has his steps enlarged beneath him, whoever glories in tribulations. If outwardly there is the narrowness of pain, inwardly there is the breadth of charity. In the hearts of the servants of God, the love of God grows the more, the more the adversity of the world assails from without. Now his footsteps are not weakened, who strengthens his heart to bear evils for God's sake, who can say with the Apostle: Who shall separate us from the charity of Christ? Tribulation, distress, or persecution, or famine, or nakedness, or peril, or the sword?

I am certain, he says, that neither death, nor life, nor angels, nor principalities, nor powers, nor any other creature will be able to separate us from the charity of God, which is in Christ Jesus. Whoever therefore is such as has been said above, namely girded with virtue, perfect in work, taught for battle, instructed in discipline, perfect in charity, unconquered in tribulation: who is now overcome by no one, is fit now to pursue his enemies. Whence it is added in the voice of the perfect:

I will pursue my enemies, and overtake them: and I will not turn back until they fail. Holy men pursue their enemies, when they drive away and repress from themselves malignant spirits, or carnal affections, by praying, watching, subduing their flesh, devoting themselves to spiritual pursuits. Now to overtake enemies is to know by careful inquiry the cunning devices of the unclean spirits, and, having known them, to avoid them. Or he overtakes his enemies, whoever restrains the carnal motions of the mind under the rule of reason. Nor ought one to turn back from this intention, from this pursuit, until they fail, that is, until those things which unlawfully struggle against the mind are utterly consumed. Rightly therefore it is added,

I will break them, and they shall not be able to stand: they shall fall under my feet. If you can break your enemies, if you do not allow sin to reign in your mortal body: if you take away their strength, so that you do not offer your members as weapons of iniquity to sin. Thus also they will not be able to stand, if as soon as you perceive temptation, you drive it away from yourself, if as soon as you see sin, you correct it. The Apostle teaches us to break our enemies, when he says, Put to death your members which are upon the earth, fornication, uncleanness, luxury, and the rest. They will also fall under your feet, if you have abominated and despised the vices and lusts in your heart, and moreover have added good affections and spiritual actions. Whence elsewhere the perfect man says, I have hated iniquity, and abominated it: but I have loved your law.

These two things make one perfectly overcome the devil and sin, namely the love of God, and the hatred of evil.

And lest this seem to be ascribed to his own powers, it is rightly subjoined, And you have girded me with strength for war: and you have supplanted those rising up against me under me. If you wish pride rising up in you to be supplanted under you, pray to God, that he gird you with humility. If you wish lust to be supplanted under you, pray to the Lord, that he gird you with chastity. Whatever vice you see rising up against you, ask from the Lord the virtue contrary to that vice, whereby it may be conquered, and what follows may come to you:

And my enemies you have given me the back: That is, you have turned them backward. And those hating me you have destroyed. As it were, the back of the enemy is given, when unlawful appetites and vices are wholly given over to oblivion; when there is no looking back through delight, and the eye of the mind is directed to contemplating heavenly things, and to desiring the things which are before us. Now the Lord destroys those hating us, when he drives from us malignant spirits, lest they tempt us, lest they harm us. Or in that which was said above, I will pursue my enemies, we can fittingly understand the enemies of the holy Church, whom holy and perfect men do not cease daily to pursue, by rebuking, chiding, forbidding, excommunicating: and of these they overtake some, and draw them to faith, to penance, to conversion: nor are they turned back from preaching, until those fail from iniquity.

They break them from the state of pride, and lay them low under themselves in all manner of humility, and being girded with the arms of virtues, they thus supplant them from vices, that those who were rising up in pursuit become followers by penance. And those who went before by threatening, and dragging, become ones going behind by obeying: turned from hatred to charity, scattered and divided from one another out of the assembly of malice. And because of the aforesaid enemies some are rejected by the Lord, because indeed they are not converted with their whole heart, nor truly confess their sins, nor purely entreat the Lord's mercy: it is added,

They cried, and there was no one to save them: unto the Lord, and he did not hear them. For not everyone who says to me, Lord, Lord, shall enter into the kingdom of heaven. Whence the Apostle says to some who cry out not rightly, You ask, and you do not receive, because you ask amiss. The reprobate also will cry out on the day of judgment, saying, Lord God, open to us. And there will be no one to hear them: but it is said to them, Amen I say to you, I do not know you. Concerning whom, in the voice of the Head, it is added:

And I will grind them small, as dust before the face of the wind; as the mud of the streets I will wipe them away. Because being dry they did not receive the rain of God's mercy, because they were light and fickle before the wind of temptation, they will deservedly be taken away from the land of the living, and ground down in the manner of dust, when it shall be said to them, Go, accursed, into eternal fire. They are rightly called the mud of the streets, because they lived in the broad and spacious way, in filthiness and vices. And they will indeed be blotted out by the Lord, as it is written, Let them be blotted out of the book of the living, and not be written with the just.

You will deliver me from the contradictions of the people. Who said, If we let him go alive, the world will follow him.

You will make me head of the nations. That the nations may believe in me, that I may be to them God, and they be to me a people (Hosea 2). Blindness in part has happened to Israel, that the multitude of the nations might be saved. For the Jews did not wish to receive the word of faith, whence it was said to them: It was necessary that the word of God be preached to you first, but because you have rejected it, and have judged yourselves unworthy of eternal life: behold, we turn to the nations, concerning whom it is subjoined, A people, whom I have known: Whom I did not visit with bodily presence, served me. Kept my precepts. In the hearing of the ear obeyed me. Did not see me with eyes, having only heard my name received my preachers.

Be you too of that faithful people, that if you have not seen Christ in the flesh, you may yet serve him in spirit, and be obedient to him in full will, that you may deserve to be blessed, along with those of whom it is written, Blessed are they who have not seen, and have believed. But beware of the example of those, of whom it is subjoined:

The children of strangers have lied to me, the children of strangers have grown old, and have limped from their paths. The Jews were children of God, but by killing Christ they became children of the devil. Not remaining in the truth, having become transgressors of the Law, they lied. They have grown old in the sin of the first man, because they did not wish to receive the new man: And they have limped from their paths, that is, from the Law and the Prophets, or in their understandings, or in faith resting on one foot, that is, worshipping the Father and not the Son: or following the old and not the new Testament, or holding the letter and not the spirit. Hence it is that the Apostle says: Who also has made us fit ministers of the new Testament: not of the letter, but of the spirit. For the letter kills, but the spirit gives life. For by these feet the holy Church walks, by these feet she is advanced toward heavenly things.

Then let us hear, for our edification, what he adds.

The Lord lives, and blessed be my God, and let the God of my salvation be exalted. The gods of the nations do not live, nor can they save anyone. (Whence elsewhere the Psalmist says: They have a mouth, and shall not speak: they have eyes, and shall not see). And therefore they are neither to be blessed, nor exalted. But we have such a Lord and such a God, who lives forever, who rules us as Lord, created us as God: who has delivered himself to us, who has stood forth as the author of our salvation. Whence he is rightly to be blessed by us, exalted, loved, worshipped, and venerated. And. O God, who givest me vengeance, and subduest peoples under me, my deliverer from my wrathful enemies. And thou shalt exalt me above them that rise up against me; from the unjust man thou shalt deliver me. God grants not only salvation to his elect, but also gives vengeance over their enemies.

So great vengeances did God the Father give to Christ his Son over his wrathful enemies, namely the Jews, who were kindled with such zeal of wrath and fury that they rose up against their own God, and, as one man and unjust, gathered together against the Lord and against his Christ. Such vengeances, I say, he gave, that those whom he had taken up to govern and to nourish as sons, because of their perfidy and madness, he rejected and cast down as strangers. From these Christ was delivered, when he rose from the dead. He was exalted, when he ascended to the right hand of the Father. He was rescued, when he handed over to the Gentiles the word of faith, which had been taken from the Jews. Whence it is well said, And thou subduest peoples under me. For when he had, by a hard judgment, abandoned the one Jewish people who rejected the yoke of faith, he mercifully called many peoples of the nations, and subdued them to that same yoke. Whence it is added:

Therefore will I confess to thee among the nations, O Lord, and I will sing a psalm to thy name. That is, through my faithful ones I will praise thee throughout all lands, and they will do good deeds in thy name. In this place confession signifies praise. But psalm signifies good working. He truly and wholly praises God, whose tongue and life agree in his praise. It is further shown for what he ought to be praised, when it is added:

Magnifying the salvation of his king, and showing mercy to his Christ David, and to his seed for ever. His salvations were not yet magnified, when God was known only in Judea. But then the magnificence of his salvations grew, when his admirable name was preached in all the earth, when it was said to the Apostles, Go, preach the Gospel to every creature. Then, without doubt, he showed mercy to his Christ David, when he willed to be born, equal to himself in divinity, from the seed of David according to the flesh. And to his seed for ever, that is, likewise he showed mercy forever, when he granted to those believing in him the remission of sins and eternal life. Whence it is written, I will call them my people, who were not my people: and her beloved, who was not beloved. And it shall be, whosoever shall call upon the name of the Lord shall be saved.

The title of this psalm is well known, because it is not the Lord Jesus Christ who says these things, but these things are said concerning him. Unto the end, a psalm of David. The business is to commend the state of the catholic religion, and the preachers of the Church, and him from whom they received their preaching. And this he does, that faults may be understood and corrected: and thus a man without stain may please God. The voice of the Prophet speaking through the Holy Spirit, or of the Church.

The heavens declare the glory of God, and the firmament announces the works of his hands. That is, the Apostles and Evangelists, who are rightly called heavens because of the loftiness of their life, and firmament because of the solidity of their faith and charity; declare the glory of the divinity, and announce to us the works of the humanity. John declares the glory of God, when he says, In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. He announces the works of God, when he adds, And the Word was made flesh, and dwelt among us. Concerning his glory too he adds, saying, And we saw his glory, the glory as it were of the Only-begotten of the Father, full of grace and truth. From these two, namely divinity and humanity, the true and catholic faith consists. And because these things must be preached with discretion, according to the capacity of the hearers, it is rightly subjoined:

Day to day utters speech, and night to night shows knowledge. Day to day, that is, spiritual men to spiritual men: night to night, that is, carnal men to carnal men. For both hear, even if both do not understand alike. The former hear it as speech uttered, the latter hear it as knowledge announced. For what is uttered is uttered to those present, but what is announced is announced to those set far away. Day to day utters speech, when Paul says, We speak wisdom among the perfect. Night to night shows knowledge, when he transforms himself, as it were, into one of lesser understanding for those of lesser understanding, saying, I judged not myself to know any thing among you, but Jesus Christ, and him crucified. And again, I could not speak to you as unto spiritual men, but as unto carnal, I gave you milk to drink, not meat.

There are no speeches nor languages, where their voices are not heard. In the Acts of the Apostles it is read how, when the Holy Spirit came upon them, all were filled with him, and spoke in the tongues of all nations, as the Spirit gave them to pronounce. But it did not sound only there, where they were filled.

Their sound has gone out into all the earth, and their words unto the ends of the world. Therefore we too speak here. For that sound has reached even unto us.

He has set his tabernacle in the sun. The Lord, that he might wage war against the kingdoms of temporal errors, being about to send not peace, but the sword upon the earth: set, as it were, his military dwelling in time, that is, the dispensation of the incarnation. Or, in the sun, that is, in manifestation, he set his tabernacle, namely his Church, which in this world has no foundation. Whence she herself says, But our conversation is in heaven. And he, as a bridegroom coming out of his chamber. That is, from the virginal womb where God joined himself to human nature as a bridegroom to a bride: for the Word was made flesh, and found a bridal chamber in the virginal womb, and from thence, as coming forth from a most chaste bed, he appeared humble in mercy beneath all, and mighty in majesty above all. Whence it follows: He has rejoiced as a giant to run the way.

He rejoiced as one most mighty, and surpassing all other men in incomparable virtue, not to dwell, but to run the way. For he did not stand in the way of sinners. He was born, he grew, he taught, he suffered, he rose, he ascended. He ran the way, he did not cling to the way. Do you wish to hear how far he ran?

His going out is from the highest heaven. And his meeting reaches unto the height thereof. From the Father his going out is not temporal but eternal, by which he was born of the Father: and he meets with the fullness of divinity unto equality with him. His going forth is from the highest heaven, because he went out from the Father, and came into the world. And his meeting reaches unto the height thereof, because again he left the world, and went to the Father. From the highest to the highest is his course, because in deity and power he is equal to the Father. But after he ran forth from there, and by returning came back again, he sent his Spirit: there appeared to those upon whom he came, tongues divided, as of fire. And therefore it follows: Nor is there any that can hide himself from his heat. As fire the Holy Spirit came, about to consume the hay of the flesh, to fire the gold, and to purge it.

Or it can be understood thus, Nor is there any that can hide himself from his heat, that is, who does not have some warmth, or some grace of the Holy Spirit: since all have understanding and reason.

The law of the Lord is unspotted, converting souls. The law of the Lord is he himself, who came to fulfill the law, not to destroy it: and it is an unspotted law, because he did no sin, neither was guile found in his mouth (1 Peter 2); not pressing souls with the yoke of servitude, but converting them to his own imitation into liberty. Or by the law of the Lord being unspotted may be understood the divine commandments, of which the Apostle says, The law indeed is holy, and the commandment just and good. But I am carnal, sold under sin. This law indeed, the divine grace inspiring, converts souls, sends sinners to repentance, kindles the lukewarm, rouses the sluggish, cleanses the unclean, justifies the unjust. The testimony of the Lord is faithful, giving wisdom to little ones: the divine sayings are not undeservedly called law and testimony. Law, because they teach and command: testimony, because in them God deigns to prove how much he loves us. And this very testimony is faithful, that is, credible.

For through this testimony, which we see fulfilled in him, just as the divine law teaches, we also await and hope for the fulfillment of what is to come to us, which is promised as everlasting. And this law and this testimony gives wisdom to little ones, that is, to the humble. Whence it is written, Upon whom shall my spirit rest, but upon him that is humble and quiet, and trembling at my words? And again, I confess to thee, Father, because thou hast hidden these things from the wise and prudent, and hast revealed them to little ones. Therefore it gives wisdom to little ones, because it instructs the humble in divine things.

The justices of the Lord are right, rejoicing hearts, the commandment of the Lord is lightsome, enlightening the eyes. The justices of the Lord are right, that is, unbending: they do not turn aside to the right or to the left, they are not bent in prosperity or adversity: they gladden with spiritual joy the hearts of those who observe them. The commandment too of the Lord is lightsome, without the veil of carnal observances: enlightening the eyes, that is, the gaze of the inner man.

The fear of the Lord is holy, enduring for ever and ever. The fear of the Lord, not that fear of penalty under the law, dreading that temporal goods be taken from it, by whose love the soul commits fornication, but a chaste fear, whereby the Church, the more ardently she loves her bridegroom, the more carefully she takes heed not to offend him. And therefore perfect love does not cast out this fear, but it endures for ever and ever.

The judgments of the Lord are true, justified in themselves. The judgments of him who judges no one, but has given all judgment to the Son: truly justified unchangeably. For neither, whether threatening or promising, does God deceive anyone, nor can anyone snatch away either his punishment from the wicked, or his reward from the righteous. The judgments of the Lord are justified in themselves, that is, through unity, not unto the strife of division, but unto the gathering of unity. Therefore he made the one man who first received him speak in the tongues of all, because he announced that he would gather the tongues of all nations into unity. What one man did then, having received the Holy Spirit, that he might speak in the tongues of all nations, this the unity now does in this manner: it speaks with all tongues in all nations. And these judgments of the Lord are More to be desired than gold and many precious stones, and sweeter than honey and the honeycomb.

By these two, namely gold and precious stone, which are more desired in this world, he wishes to comprehend all riches. And by the other two, that is, honey and the honeycomb, than which nothing in this world is sweeter, he wishes us to understand all sweetnesses: that you may understand that nothing is so sweet, so precious, so worthy of love, so worthy of desire, as the divine judgments. And when you have understood them to be so dear, love and keep them: so that you may deserve to receive from them the heavenly reward, and it may be said of you what follows:

For thy servant keeps them, in keeping them there is great reward. How sweet these are, your servant proves by keeping them. To one who does not keep them indeed they are bitter: and punishment follows. But in the keeping of them there is great reward: not in some benefit set outside them, but in the very act by which the judgments of God are kept, there is great reward, and one rejoices in them. But between these divine judgments which he desires, and the heavenly reward which he hopes for, the holy man seems to grow fearful concerning his own sins, of which he adds:

Who understands sins? And therefore the prayer follows: From my hidden faults cleanse me, and from those of others spare thy servant. It is no wonder if each one does not understand his own faults, since they are themselves darkness, and impede the eye of the heart, and allow it to see neither the light nor itself. Therefore let us say to God, who knows how to see what to purge, who knows how to look upon what to heal.

Let us say to him, From my hidden faults cleanse me, and from those of others spare thy servant. My own sins defile me, the sins of others afflict me. From these cleanse me, from those of others spare me. Take from my heart the evil thought, drive from me the evil persuader. These two kinds of sins, one's own and another's at once, appeared clearly first at the very beginning. The devil fell by his own fault, Adam was cast down by another's. If they shall not have dominion over me, then shall I be spotless, and shall be cleansed from the greatest sin. He does not say, if there shall be no sins in me: but, he says, if they shall not have dominion over me. For it is impossible for a man to be without sin as long as he lives mortally, as the Apostle bears witness who says, If we shall say that we have no sin, we deceive ourselves, and the truth is not in us.

Therefore even if we have sin in the flesh, and even if carnal concupiscence pricks us, if we resist as much as we can by will, if we do not consent in spirit, we are spotless before God, nor will it be imputed to us, so long as sin does not have dominion over us. But what is that greatest sin, of which he says, And I shall be cleansed from the greatest sin? Without doubt pride is so great a vice that it cast down an angel, and made of an angel a devil, and shut him out forever from the kingdom of heaven. This is a great sin, and the head and cause of all sins. For it is written, The beginning of all sin is pride. And lest you think it a light thing, he says, The beginning of man's pride is to apostatize from God. This vice is not a light evil, O my brothers: to this vice, in these great persons whom you see, Christian humility is displeasing.

Because of this vice they disdain to bow their necks to the yoke of Christ, being more tightly bound by the yoke of sin. From this vice, which is the head of all vices (since the rest were born from it), apostasy from God was brought about, the soul going into darkness, misusing free will, with the other sins also following. Because of this vice, because of this great sin of pride, God came in humility. This is the cause, this the great sin. This disease of souls brought the almighty physician down from heaven, humbled him even to the form of a servant, drove him with insults, hung him on the wood, that this fear might run to the saving medicine. Now at last let man BLUSH to be proud, for whose sake God was made humble. Thus, he says, shall I be cleansed from the greatest sin, because God resists the proud, but gives grace to the humble.

Truly that man is spotless who lacks this sin: because this is the last thing for those returning to God, which was the first for those departing.

And they shall be so that the words of my mouth may please, and the meditation of my heart in thy sight always. Thus our words will please, and our meditations shall be in thy sight always: if first our sins have been subdued, and pride extinguished. From these words indeed we are taught to strive to please the Lord our God, restraining unlawful sins in our speech and thoughts, and cleansing ourselves from pride. And therefore let us say what follows: O Lord, my helper and my redeemer. Be thou a helper in good things, and a redeemer in evil ones. A helper, that we may dwell in thy charity: a redeemer, that thou mayst free us from our iniquity.

Unto the end, a psalm of David. This psalm is to be attributed to the Prophet David, directing his consideration unto the end, that is, unto Christ, who is the end and fulfillment of the law: as he himself says, I came not to destroy the law, but to fulfill it. The Prophet therefore in this psalm, not out of the necessity of prayer, but out of great affection, being full of the Holy Spirit, foresaw the things to come, and expressed them under the guise of a wish: intending this, that having set forth to us the resurrection of Christ, which he applauds as coming, he might confirm us to believe that we shall rise again, and shall sit together in heavenly places: so that the humility of the flock might follow where the loftiness of the Shepherd went before. And by doing this under the guise of a wish, he shows the desire and joy which he had from it. He therefore said to Christ:

May the Lord hear thee in the day of tribulation: may the name of the God of Jacob protect thee. Why does he not say, in the day of peace, or of prosperity, or of joy, but says, in the day of tribulation may he hear thee? Tribulation is indeed pleasing to God, and useful to the just in this world. For it humbles the heart, and rouses one to prayer, and makes one worthy to be heard: whence the same holy man says elsewhere, In my tribulation I called upon the Lord, and he heard me. The Prophet therefore says, wishing and foretelling things to come, May the Lord the Father hear thee, O Christ, in the day of tribulation, that is, in the time of thy passion. May he hear thee, I say, that he may make thee rise again: may the name of the God of Jacob protect thee with immortality, that is, he who is called the God of Jacob. For to thee belongs the people born later, since the greater shall serve the lesser.

May he send thee help from the holy place. Namely, from himself. For he is the Holy of Holies, from whom all good things proceed, as the Apostle bears witness, who says, Every best gift, and every perfect gift is from above, descending from the Father of lights. And may he defend thee out of Sion. Making for thee a sanctified body, the Church, safe from watching, which awaits the time when thou shalt come from the wedding. For Sion is interpreted "watching." And those belong to Sion and to the Body of Christ who, having despised earthly things, direct the eye of the mind to things above.

May he be mindful of all thy sacrifice: that is, may he make us mindful of all the injuries and insults which thou didst endure for us. And may thy burnt-offering be made rich. And may he turn the cross, in which thou wast wholly offered to God, into the joy of the resurrection. His burnt-offering indeed appeared rich, when hanging on the cross, and offering himself for us to God, full of the richness of charity, he prayed for his persecutors, saying: Father, forgive them, for they know not what they do. O sweet Lord, how rich was thy heart, how sweetly did it burn, how wonderfully does it breathe fragrance within us!

May he grant thee according to thy heart. Thou who knewest what profit thy passion would have. And may he confirm all thy counsel. Not only that whereby thou didst lay down thy life for thy friends, that the mortified grain might rise more abundantly: but also that whereby blindness in part happened to Israel, that the fullness of the Gentiles might enter, and so all Israel might be saved.

We will rejoice in thy salvation. Not in earthly riches, not in transitory glory, not in the vanity of this world: but in him who can save us forever. And in the name of our God we shall be magnified. Not in our own name, not in our merits, nor in our own strength: but in the name of our God we shall be magnified. Let us therefore call upon the name of the Lord our God over us, and the confession of his name will not only not destroy us, but will even exalt us.

May the Lord fulfill all thy petitions. Not only those which thou didst have on earth, but also those with which thou intercedest for us in heaven. We have, says the Apostle, an advocate with the Father, Jesus Christ, and he himself intercedes for us. It is great confidence for us that he who is to be our Judge does not cease to pray for us: only let us take care not to be ungrateful, lest the hardness of our heart drive away from itself that which he mercifully asks. Now I know that the Lord has saved his Christ. As if the Prophet were to say, The things I have set forth above, I did not pray out of distrust: because now, so long before the time, I am certain that the Lord has saved his Son, confirming him in his passion, preserving him in obedience, raising him from the dead, lifting him up to the heavens, setting him at his right hand.

Therefore he puts the past for the future: because that which he understood was to come concerning Christ was as certain to him as if it were already past. He will hear him from his holy heaven. Not from earth only, where he asks to be glorified, but also from heaven, where now, interceding for us at the right hand of the Father, he pours forth from there the Holy Spirit upon those who believe in him. In the might of his right hand is salvation. Our might is the salvation of his favor, when even out of tribulation he gives help, so that when we are weak, then we are strong. But vain is the salvation of men, which is not of his right hand, but of his left. For these are lifted up into great pride, whoever, sinning, have been temporarily saved.

Some in chariots, and some in horses. They are carried by the rolling succession of temporal goods, and these are dragged along by proud honors, and exult in them. But we will call upon the name of the Lord our God. But we, fixing our hope in eternal things, and not seeking our own glory, will exult in the name of the Lord our God.

They are bound, and have fallen. And therefore they have been bound by the desire of temporal things, fearing to spare the Lord, lest they lose their place to the Romans: and rushing upon the stone of stumbling and the rock of offense, they have fallen from heavenly hope, they to whom blindness in part happened in Israel, ignorant of the justice of God, and wishing to establish their own. But we have risen, and are set upright. But we, that the people of the Gentiles might enter, raised up as children of Abraham from the stones, we who were not pursuing justice, laid hold of it: and we have risen again, not by our own strength, but justified by faith we are set upright.

O Lord, save the king. That he who has shown us by his passion the example of fighting, may also offer our sacrifices, being raised as priest from the dead, and established in heaven. And hear us in the day when we shall call upon thee. Since thou wilt offer thyself for us, Hear us in the day when we shall call upon thee.

Unto the end, a psalm of David. The Prophet, rejoicing together over the prayer heard, says that that king rejoices in the Lord. And he shows how many and how great goods God the Father rewarded him with for his constancy: and, on the other hand, how many evils he is about to give to his adversaries. And he does this so that all may hope in the Lord, and in the mercy of the Most High: lest his right hand find them out for destruction. And here the intention is noted, where he says, Let thy hand be found by all thy enemies, and so forth. The voice of the Prophet singing of Christ to the Father:

Lord, the king shall rejoice in thy strength, and shall exult vehemently in thy salvation. As if he were saying, Lord Father, in thy strength, that is, in the Word made flesh, the man Christ Jesus, who was before established king over thy Church, to overthrow the devil and to rule her spiritually according to good works and virtues, shall rejoice; and over that salvation which thou didst grant to the same Church through him, he shall exult vehemently. Gladness pertains to the soul: exultation to the body. Within, he shall rejoice concerning the divinity joined to humanity; without, he is shown to exult over his Church redeemed through divinity and humanity: whence it is also added:

Thou hast given him his heart's desire, and hast not withheld from him the will of his lips. For he desired to eat the passover, and to lay down his soul when he willed, and to take it up again: and thou didst grant it to him. And thou hast not defrauded him, by withholding also the will of his lips. Which will he manifested through his lips, saying thus to God: Father, I will that where I am, there also may my minister be. And again, My peace, he says, I leave with you. There is also another reason why the king shall rejoice, and shall exult vehemently.

For thou hast prevented him with blessings of sweetness, thou hast set on his head a crown of precious stone. For before man was made, he was blessed by all the patriarchs and prophets. He was also blessed by the very Angel who said to Mary: Blessed art thou among women, and blessed is the fruit of thy womb.

God the Father, then, prevented his Son the king with blessings: because before he was made, he was blessed by many. And it is rightly added, Of sweetness, because this abundance of blessing proceeded from the sweetness of his love. He changed the bitterness of wrath into the sweetness of mercy, and turned the curse of the sinner into the remission of sins. And this is the blessing. He also set upon his head a crown of precious stone: because at the beginning of his preaching, precious stones—his disciples—gathered around him drawing near, from whom the beginning of the proclamation of him proceeded. Or by the crown placed upon his head we may understand the whole Church surrounding Christ on every side: which consists of living and precious stones, namely the Apostles, and martyrs, confessors, and virgins. Nor should it disturb us that it does not say, of precious stones, but of a precious stone. For many are one in the unity of faith.

Many are one in the bond of charity: as it is written, They had one soul and one heart in God.

He asked life of thee. He asked resurrection, saying, Father, glorify thy Son. And thou hast given him length of days for ever and ever. That is, the long ages of this present world, which the Church would have, and thereafter eternity for ever and ever. For in that he died to sin, he died once: but in that he liveth, he liveth unto God.

Great is his glory in thy salvation. That is, in that thou hast saved him, and raised him up, and made him from corruptible incorruptible, and from mortal immortal. But thou shalt yet lay upon him glory and great beauty. When thou shalt place him in heaven at thy right hand. Great indeed is the glory to Christ the king, to rise from death to life: but greater is his glory to sit at the right hand of the Father. And it is a great beauty, that man should be Lord. Or, Thou shalt lay upon him glory and great beauty, that is, thou shalt build upon him glorious and beautiful ones, who is the foundation of the Church: of whom the Apostle says, Other foundation can no man lay, than that which is laid, which is Christ Jesus. We may refer glory to immortality, or to beatitude, or to divinity. But beauty to works and virtues. There is also another reason why the king shall rejoice.

For thou shalt give him for a blessing for ever and ever. First thou wilt bless him, afterward thou wilt give him as a blessing to the peoples: so that being blessed he might bless, being sanctified he might sanctify, being glorified he might glorify. Whence it was said to Abraham, In thy seed shall all nations be blessed. Or, Thou shalt give him for a blessing for ever and ever, that he may be blessed and praised by us in this age, and in the age to come. Thou shalt make him joyful in gladness with thy countenance. For Christ shall rejoice on the day of judgment, when the countenance and glory of God, which he himself promised to believers, shall be manifested. Our salvation, and the vision of God, shall be his gladness.

And then shall be the perfect joy of the head and of the body, when that shall be fulfilled which was said through the Apostle: We shall be like him, when we shall see him as he is. And in the Gospel, But I will see you again, and your heart shall rejoice, and your joy no man shall take from you. And deservedly thou oughtest to make him joyful, either in himself according to his humanity, or in his members.

For the king hopes in the Lord. He is not proud on account of his royal dignity, but, humble in heart, he has established his hope in the Lord and his Father. And through the mercy of the Most High he shall not be moved. Obedience even unto the death of the cross will not disturb his humility. What does the Lord our God commend to us by this example of his, but the strength of hope and humility? For if the king hopes in the Lord, how much more ought we to hope in him, who are weak and fragile men? If he is not moved through the mercy of the Most High, who is without the stain of sin, how much more ought we to persist in that same mercy, who are corrupted by so many vices and sins? For we must beware lest what follows befall us:

Let thy hand be found by all thy enemies, let thy right hand find all who hate thee. What is his hand, but his Son? He himself also is his right hand, according as he is equal to him. Who are his enemies, whom he himself hates, and those who have hated him: but those whom he himself has rejected, and who have not believed in him, or believing have not obeyed? Upon all these, on the day of judgment, the hand shall be found, that is, Christ shall appear according to his humanity. His right hand shall find them, that is, the same Lord Christ, that he may destroy them by the power of his divinity. Whence it is also added,

Thou shalt make them as an oven of fire. That is, thou shalt establish them burning within by the conscience of their impiety. In the time of thy countenance. That is, in the time of thy manifestation on the day of judgment, when face to face they shall see him whom they pierced. Whence it is written, And all flesh shall see the salvation of God. Then the Lord in his wrath shall trouble them. Saying, Depart, ye cursed, into everlasting fire. What then shall happen? And fire shall devour them. Alas, sorrow and sadness! The sentence given, punishment shall immediately follow. How dreadful the wrath, which then shall be without mercy! How savage the confusion, where there can be no consolation! How unhappy those souls, which the fire that is not quenched shall devour! Where is the worm that shall not die, where is the weeping and gnashing of teeth.

Their fruit shalt thou destroy from the earth, and their seed from among the children of men. If by fruit we understand work, by seed thought, thou shalt destroy both from the land of the living, and from the fellowship of the saints. For they would not be thy enemies, nor incur such punishments, unless they had had useless works and thoughts. And deservedly these things befell them.

For they have turned aside evils upon thee. Saying, It is expedient for us that one should die, and not the whole nation perish. The evils which they thought were imminent upon them if thou wert to reign, they turned aside toward killing thee. They devised counsels which they could not establish. For they devised to blot out thy name from the earth. They devised to kill Christ, lest they should lose their nation and their place. But they lost it for this very reason, because they killed him. They could not, therefore, establish their counsel, because there is no wisdom, no prudence, no counsel against the Lord. And from this I know,

For thou shalt make them turn their back. So that they look back, and are not fit for the kingdom of God: so that in mind and desire they seek earthly things and lose heavenly ones. But wilt thou destroy them all? Far from it. For blindness in part has happened to Israel, that the multitude of the Gentiles might enter in. But the remnant shall be saved. Whence it is also added: In thy remnants thou shalt prepare their countenance. That is, thy countenance and thy presence, which would have been theirs, if they themselves had believed. Thou shalt prepare it in thy remnants, that is, those whom thou hast left for thyself to be saved. And therefore,

Be exalted, O Lord, in thy strength. That is, rise again and remain in equality with the Father, that thou mayest show thy power and thy majesty: thou who first camest in humility. But We will sing and praise thy virtues. Song pertains to praise, psalm pertains to good work. As if he were saying: with heart and deed we will celebrate, and we will make known thy wonders.

Unto the end, a psalm of David, for the morning reception. This psalm is to be attributed to David, that is, to the strong hand, Christ, who overcame the devil, and conquered death. He is called David for this reason, that he was made for us of the seed of David according to the flesh. And he himself directs us unto the end, that is, unto the glorification of his resurrection. And it is a psalm for the morning assumption, that is, for the resurrection made in the morning. For his resurrection on the first day of the sabbath was in the morning, whereby he was taken up into eternal life: over whom death shall no more have dominion. But these things are spoken in the person of the crucified one. For from the beginning of this psalm are the words which he himself cried out, when he hung on the cross: also preserving the person of the old man, whose mortality he bore. For our old man was fastened to the cross with him.

And he intends to invite us by his example to suffering and patience. For as the Apostle says, Christ suffered for us, leaving us an example, that we should follow his steps. He prays, moreover, for himself and for his members: he tells how despised he was by the Jews: he narrates his passion: and he asks for his soul to be delivered. He invites us to the praise of God, he foretells the conversion of the Gentiles, and that the heavens, that is, the Apostles, shall declare his justice to the people who shall be born spiritually, whom the Lord has made, that is, reformed.

God, my God, look upon me, why hast thou forsaken me? The words of my sins are far from my salvation. This word we have heard on the cross. There the Lord says, Eli, Eli, lama sabacthani. The Evangelist has interpreted it, and said that he spoke it in Hebrew, My God, my God, why hast thou forsaken me (John, and 14)? What did the Lord mean to say? For God had not forsaken him, since the Son is always in the Father, and the Father in the Son: as it is written, In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. Therefore the very Word which was God was made flesh. He took on death for us, and made us his body, for which he prays to the Father, when he says, God, my God, look upon me, why hast thou forsaken me?

As if he said, O God of all through power, but especially my God through grace, look upon me, that is, upon my own, with regard to thy mercy. Why hast thou forsaken me, that is, mine? How does he say "of my sins," he who committed no sin, unless because he prays for our sins, and made our sins his own, that he might make his righteousness ours?

My God, I shall cry by day, and thou wilt not hear: and by night, and it is not to folly for me. He said this of me, of thee, of him. For he was bearing his own body, that is, the Church. I shall cry by day in the prosperous things of this life, that they may not be changed: nor wilt thou hear, because I shall cry to thee with the words of my sins. And by night, that is, in the adversities of this life I shall cry, that they may prosper: and likewise thou wilt not hear. Nor dost thou do this to my folly, but rather that I may understand what thou wouldst have me cry. Not with the words of sins, nor out of desire for temporal life, but with the words of conversion to thee unto eternal life. Many cry out and are not heard; but for salvation, not for folly. Paul cried out that the thorn of the flesh might be taken from him: and he was not heard.

It was said to him, My grace is sufficient for thee. For power is made perfect in weakness. Therefore he was not heard, but not to his folly, rather to his wisdom: that man might understand that the Lord is the physician, and that tribulation is a medicine unto salvation, not a punishment unto damnation. Placed under the medicine you are burned, you are cut, you cry out: the physician does not hearken to your will, but hearkens for your health.

But thou dwellest in the holy place, the praise of Israel. Thou dwellest in those whom thou hast sanctified. For thou dost not dwell in a body subjected to sins. For (says the Wise Man) into a malevolent soul wisdom will not enter. Those who are just, who are chaste and pure and holy, they themselves are the dwelling place of God. Show thyself therefore such, that God may dwell in thee. Cleanse thy heart, sanctify thyself, that thou mayest deserve to be of those of whom the Apostle says, The temple of God is holy, which you are. And well he says, the praise of Israel. For Israel is interpreted "seeing God." Those know not how to praise God who do not see him, do not understand him: nor is praise seemly in the mouth of a sinner. But he is truly praised by those by whom he is spiritually seen, that is, believed, understood, loved. Be thou also spiritually Israel, that thy praise may be God.

In thee our fathers hoped. Nor did hope fail them. For they did not place it in themselves, but in thee. For it is good to hope in the Lord, rather than to hope in princes. And elsewhere: Let Israel hope in the Lord. And again: Cause me to hear thy mercy in the morning, for in thee have I hoped. They hoped, and thou hast delivered them. From enemies, from temptations, from tribulations.

They cried to thee. In the time of tribulation. And were saved. They hoped in thee, and were not confounded. They hoped that thou wouldst give them the land of promise, and they received it. We know and read how many of our fathers, hoping in themselves, the Lord rescued. He rescued the people of Israel out of the land of Egypt: he rescued the three children from the furnace: he rescued Daniel from the lions' den: he rescued Susanna from a false accusation. They hoped, they cried out, and were saved. And they were sinners and mere men.

But I am a worm, and no man. But I, now speaking not in the person of Adam, but I properly, Jesus Christ, incarnate without seed, am a worm, because mortal, because born of flesh, because generated without intercourse, and without seed. No man, understand, only—but God, so that I was in man beyond men. I, such a one, without seed, without sin, was made The reproach of men, and the outcast of the people. Behold, so many fathers hoped and cried out, and were forthwith set free and saved. Yet they (as I have said) were mere men, and sinners. But the Lord was scourged, was beaten with blows, was defiled with spittings, was crowned with thorns, was lifted up on the wood, cried out, God, my God, why hast thou forsaken me? And no one came to his aid. Why this? Could he not, by that power by which he was God, have freed himself? He certainly could, but he was unwilling.

He wished to die, he wished to redeem us, he wished to instruct us by his example: that even thus human pride might deign to imitate the humility of God: because though he was in the form of God, he humbled himself, made obedient not to some ordinary and common death, but to the death of the cross, most ignominious and at the same time most cruel. For this reason God, willing to become man, became the reproach of men, and the outcast of the people. The reproach of men, on account of the cross: the outcast of the people, because they cast him off, and asked for Barabbas, who, on account of a certain sedition made in the city and a murder, had been cast into prison. But they asked that the murderer be granted to them; but the author of life, crucifying him, they cast off. He became, therefore, the outcast of the Jewish people. But now let us hear in the psalm how much Christ suffered.

All that saw me have laughed me to scorn: they have spoken with the lips, and moved the head. All, understand, those who had come to see, to crucify, held me in derision in their heart: and with their lips they spoke words of mockery: as that, Hail, Rabbi. And they moved the head, saying, Ha! Thou who destroyest the temple of God, and in three days rebuildest it. The Evangelist agrees with this prophecy, where he says, And they that passed by mocked him. And wagging their heads, they spoke these things with their lips:

He hoped in the Lord, let him deliver him. Hence the Evangelist says, He trusteth in God, let him deliver him now, if he will. Let him save him, by delivering him: since he wills him. As he himself says, the Jews said these things of Christ ironically, and yet they spoke the truth:

For thou art he that hast drawn me out of the womb. Not only of that virginal womb (for this is the law of birth for all men, that they be drawn out of the womb), but also out of the womb of the Jewish nation, whose darkness covers, and into the light of Christ he is not yet born, whoever places salvation in the carnal observance of the sabbath and circumcision, and other such things. My hope from the breasts of my mother. My hope is God, not from when I began to be nursed at the breasts of the Virgin (for this was even before), but from the breasts of the Synagogue, as I said of the womb, thou hast drawn me out, lest I should suck in carnal custom.

I was cast upon thee from the womb. It is the womb of the Synagogue, which did not bear me, but cast me forth. But I did not fall, because thou didst establish me. From my mother's womb thou art my God. My mother's womb did not bring it about that, like a little child, I should be forgetful of thee. And therefore: 12. Depart not from me: For thou wilt always be with me. And it is necessary: For tribulation is very near. Whence in the Gospel, Arise, let us go: Behold, he that will betray me draweth near. And there is none to help. Neither angel, nor man, but thou alone.

Many calves have surrounded me. The Jews, fattened, wanton, of untamed neck. Fat bulls have besieged me. Annas and Caiaphas and the rest of the elders. Bulls indeed, because proud: Fat, because they were full of malice.

They have opened their mouth against me. Openly and with a loud voice blaspheming. As a lion ravening and roaring. As a lion seizes its prey, so they, out of malice and cruelty, seized me for the passion, roaring and with irrational bellowing, and sounding with a shout, Away with him, away with him, Crucify him. He is guilty of death.

I am poured out like water, and all my bones are scattered. Water poured out often makes men, with slipping feet, fall on it. I am poured out like water, namely to their slipping and ruin. The bones of Christ are the Apostles, by whom his body, which is the Church, is sustained and strengthened. But these were scattered, because, he being forsaken, all fled: as it is written, I will strike the shepherd, and the sheep of the flock shall be scattered. Otherwise, water that is poured out either washes or waters. Christ was poured out like water. The filthy were washed, the thirsty were watered. The scattered bones are the Apostles, sent forth to preach. My heart is become like wax melting in the midst of my belly.

This can be understood of the sorrow of death, because he said, My soul is sorrowful even unto death: and from anguish his sweat became as it were drops of blood running down upon the ground: so that it was necessary for him to be comforted by an angel sent from heaven. For there came (says the Evangelist) an angel from heaven, strengthening him. Or my heart, that is, my wisdom, which was written concerning me in the holy books, and, as though hard and closed, was not understood. After the fire of my passion came, it was made manifest as though melted, and was received into the memory of my Church. Hence also the veil of the Temple was rent, after Christ expired, because what was veiled was revealed. My strength is dried up like a potsherd, and my tongue hath cleaved to my jaws: and thou hast brought me down into the dust of death. It is dried up, because he showed himself dead and without vigor, and did not defend himself, who was accustomed to help others.

His tongue also cleaved to his jaws, because as a sheep he was led to the slaughter, and opened not his mouth. And he was brought into the dust of death, namely into the place of burial. Or his strength dried up like a potsherd, because what was weak in him became weaker from tribulation. And just as a potsherd is soft before the fire, and hard after the fire: so the power of the Lord before the passion was despised, after the passion was honored: and he who before was mortal and corruptible, afterward became immortal and incorruptible. And as the tongue in us avails only for speaking, so he said that his tongue, that is, his preachers, had cleaved to his jaws, that is, the two Testaments, that they might grasp wisdom from the inner meanings. He also says he was brought down into the dust of death, which dust signifies the wicked and the criminal, whom the wind of temptation casts off from the face of the earth, that is, from the faith of the Church.

And it is no wonder if I suffered these things, which I foretold.

For many dogs have surrounded me. That is, the Jews, barking against the truth. The council of the malignant hath besieged me. Namely of the princes, scribes and Pharisees, who took counsel together, that they might take Jesus by guile and kill him. Whence it is also added, They have dug, that is, pierced with nails, my hands and my feet: they have numbered all my bones. By stretching me out on the cross, they showed them to be, as it were, countable.

They themselves indeed considered, and looked upon me. These same men, unchanged from their purpose of iniquity, kept considering, and by considering inquired among themselves who I was. And they perceived nothing in me but a mere man.

They divided my garments among themselves, and upon my vesture they cast lots. That they divided the garments signified their discord and error, and the division of the kingdom. But that they did not divide the seamless and better garment prefigured the concord of the Church, which lacks stain and wrinkle. Or the divided garments signify the Scriptures and the other sacraments, which could be divided through heresies. But there was there the tunic woven from above, which no one divided. What is this tunic, if not charity, if not unity, woven from heaven by the Father, by the Holy Spirit, which no one can divide? Heretics could divide the sacraments among themselves, but they did not divide charity; and because they could not divide it, they withdrew: but it remains whole. It fell by lot to certain persons. Whoever has this is secure. No one moves him out of the Catholic Church.

And if outside one begins to have it, he is let in: just as the olive branch was brought back by the dove, which, when Noah sent it out, he rejoicingly let back into the ark upon its return.

But thou, O Lord, remove not thy help far from me. Not at the end of the age, as thou wilt come to the others, whom thou art to judge from the seat of thy majesty: but raise me up at once. Which was done: for on the third day, the pains of hell being loosed, and the devil overcome, he rose again. For if he had delayed until the general resurrection, our whole hope would have fallen. Look to my defense. Lest anything harm me. Note in these words the humility and patience of Christ. For he both suffers and speaks all these things for thy sake. See then how he places his whole help and his defense not in himself, but in the Father, though he himself is the power of God and the wisdom of God.

He wishes to form you by his example, so that when you are placed in tribulations or temptations, you may endure humbly and patiently, and ask for divine help, saying, But thou, O Lord, remove not thy help far from me: look to my defense. Whence it is also added,

Deliver my soul, O God, from the sword: and my only one from the hand of the dog. By "sword" he wishes death to be understood: because a sword is a blade, and men are killed by the blade. And lest we should understand the death of the flesh, he does not say, "Deliver my body," but, "Deliver my soul." For we ought to pray rather for the life of the soul that is to live forever, than for the life of the body that rots in the earth. By "my only one" he designates the Church. By "dog," the Jewish people, barking, discordant, biting, raging. From whose hand, that is, power, he asks that she be freed. Whoever contends, whoever is discordant, bites, rages—is a dog. Hence also it is said, Many dogs have surrounded me, the council of the malignant hath besieged me. Seek not the company of such: lest you at last be bitten and torn by them: but pray God to deliver you from them.

Save me from the lion's mouth: and my lowness from the horns of unicorns. The lion signifies the devil, of whom the Apostle says, Your adversary the devil, as a roaring lion, goes about seeking whom he may devour. Resist him, strong in faith. When he lurks in hiding, he is a dragon: when he rages openly, a lion. Because, therefore, he had gnashed his teeth for open savagery in killing Christ, it is rightly said, Save me from the lion's mouth. By "unicorns" he means the proud. Therefore he added, My lowness. From the horns (he says) of unicorns, that is, from the loftiness of the proud, who raise themselves up singularly and cannot bear companions, make safe my lowness. In them indeed lurked the invisible lion. Through them he raged in part, in part he was savage. He seized the prey, tearing the Lord's flesh. We have heard what Christ suffered, and what he prayed: let us now consider why he suffered. Hear the fruit.

I will declare thy name to my brethren, in the midst of the Church will I praise thee. Who are these brethren, if not the Disciples, loving one another? To them it was said by the Lord: This is my commandment, that you love one another, as I have loved you. The Lord himself designates these in the Gospel, when it was said to him, Behold thy mother and thy brethren stand without seeking thee. But he, answering him that spoke to him, said, Who is my mother, and who are my brethren? And he stretched forth his hand toward the Disciples, saying, Behold my mother, and my brethren. Whosoever (he says) shall do the will of my Father who is in heaven, he is my brother, and sister, and mother. And my mother and my brethren, these are they who hear the word of God, and do it. Well does he say, In the midst of the Church will I praise thee: because Christ came not secretly, but openly, to preach his Father.

For he says, I have spoken openly to the world, I have always taught in the synagogue, and in the temple, where all the Jews come together: and in secret I have spoken nothing. And elsewhere the same Savior says: What I tell you in darkness, speak ye in the light: and what you hear in the ear, preach ye upon the housetops. For what you have said in darkness, shall be said in the light: and what you have spoken in the ear in the chambers, shall be preached on the housetops, that is, openly and before all. He declares the name that it may be known: he preaches the praise that it may be loved: so that through faith and love God may be worshipped by spiritual brothers within the Church.

Then he invites us to his praise, when he adds: Ye that fear the Lord, praise him: all ye the seed of Jacob, glorify him. Let all the seed of Israel fear him. Here he comprises three orders: of beginners, of those making progress, and of the perfect. Now there are some who, terrified by the greatness of their sins, made fearful by divine judgment, correct the evils they have done, and, more out of fear of punishment than love of righteousness, return to the Lord: these are here admonished to strive to praise God in voice and manner of life, whom by living wickedly they before blasphemed. And there are some advanced to higher things, who now strive to exercise themselves in spiritual pursuits, to labor in good works, to restrain the concupiscences of the flesh by the rigor of the spirit, to overthrow vices by virtues.

These are the seed of Jacob, who is called "the supplanter." These are bidden to glorify the Lord for their progress, so that they may progress the more, the less they glory in themselves and the more in the Lord. And there are many who now hold the summit of perfection, who, utterly forgetting the things that are behind, keep the eyes of the mind fixed on the sight of the true light: they transcend all earthly things, dwell in mind on heavenly things alone, extinguish carnal desires in themselves, dead to the world, live to God. These are spiritually the seed of Israel, which is interpreted "seeing God": who flee the defilements of flesh and soul, that they may deserve to see God. These are admonished ceaselessly to fear him whom they love: not with a servile fear, by which sinners fear God lest they be punished, but with a chaste fear, by which the perfect fear God lest they be forsaken.

Why the Lord is to be feared and glorified is shown, when it is added: For he hath not despised nor disregarded the supplication of the poor. He hath not despised, so as to be rejected, nor disregarded, so as to be counted worthless, the supplication of the poor, that is, of the humble. Neither hath he turned away his face from me, and when I cried to him, he heard me. O the wondrous clemency of Almighty God! Some poor man comes to a rich man, humbly begs a powerful one, cries out from need, asks for help, or seeks assistance. What does the proud rich man do? He despises the humble person, turns away his face, does not deign to attend, disdains to listen. What the proud man scorns, the humble God receives. For the Lord, being on high, regardeth the lowly, attends to the poor with mercy, hears them piously. Rightly, then, may it be said what follows:

With thee is my praise in the great Church: I will pay my vows in the sight of them that fear him. The Church was small when God was known in but one nation, that is, in Judea. Now it is great, because spread throughout the whole world: in it, daily praises are rendered to God, vows and sacrifices are paid: not in hiding, for fear of persecutors, but openly, in the sight of believers. Whence it is also added:

The poor shall eat and shall be filled: and they shall praise the Lord that seek him: their hearts shall live for ever and ever. Those who were fasting from the food of truth, who were hungering and thirsting for righteousness, are now fed with the divine Scriptures: refreshed with heavenly sacraments: they praise, who seek him: for the praise of the Lord is the belching forth of that fullness. Hence their hearts shall live forever, because that is the food of heart and soul, of which it is written, He who shall eat of this bread shall live forever. And, Blessed are they who hunger and thirst for righteousness: for they shall be filled. For not by bread alone does man live, but by every word that proceeds from the mouth of God. That the Church is great, moreover, is shown by the words that follow. For it is said,

All the ends of the earth shall remember, and shall be converted to the Lord: and all the kindreds of the Gentiles shall adore in his sight. In saying, "all the ends of the earth," and "all the kindreds of the Gentiles," he intimates that in every part of the world, and in every nation, the Lord is worshipped and adored. The holy man foresaw what would come, which we now see fulfilled. For they remember God, of whom they had been forgetful: and they are converted to him, from whom they had turned away, when they sought earthly things and did not understand eternal things, and served the creature rather than the Creator, who is blessed forever. And they adore him, who had been accustomed to adore idols.

For the kingdom is the Lord's: and he shall have dominion over the nations. The devil has been cast out, Christ has recovered his inheritance: he rules his people spiritually, possesses them as his own kingdom, and shall have dominion among the nations by perpetual power. And because he had said that the kindreds of the Gentiles adore the Lord, he added concerning the powers, saying,

All the fat ones of the earth have eaten and have adored. Who are the fat ones of the earth, if not the rich and the abundant in this world? They have tasted and proved that the Lord is sweet; and therefore they have adored. But when he says that all the ends of the earth, and all the kindreds of the Gentiles, and all the fat ones of the earth are converted and adore the Lord, this is not to be understood so that none should remain within the bounds of the earth, whether in families or among princes, who does not worship God: but it is to be taken that in every part of the earth, from every kind of family, from every kind of power, God is believed in and adored. For that many must be rejected is shown, when it is added: In his sight shall fall all they that go down into the earth. To go down into the earth is to bend the state of one's mind toward the coveting of earthly things.

But, as the Apostle says, The fire shall try every man's work, of what sort it is. God will come manifestly, to judge the living and the dead. There the reprobate shall fall into hell, there the elect shall rise to heaven. The former shall hear, Depart, ye cursed, into everlasting fire. The latter shall hear, Receive the kingdom prepared for you. Whence it is also added:

And my soul shall live unto him, and my seed shall serve him. They already begin to live who say with the Apostle, But our conversation is in heaven. Hence he himself says, I live, now not I: but Christ liveth in me. Therefore holy men deny themselves, and as it were lose their souls in this world, that they may keep them unto life eternal. But their seed is their own good works, or those who through them are converted and serve God. Christ sent his seed into the earth, when he commanded the Apostles to preach the Gospel to every creature. Few grains were sown, and a great harvest grew. For they proclaimed and spoke, and were multiplied beyond number. When the holy man foresaw this to come, he added:

A generation to come shall be declared to the Lord, and the heavens shall declare his justice to a people that shall be born, which the Lord hath made. The generation to come is the generation of the New Testament, which is ourselves: declared to the Lord, that is, to the honor of the Lord, that we may remain his inheritance. Hence the Apostle says, You are a chosen generation, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, a people of acquisition. By the name of heavens are designated the Apostles, who declared the justice of God to a people born of faith, created by God unto good works.

If therefore we have been declared unto the Lord, let us believe in him, and illumined by his justice, whereby we may know how to decline from evil and do good; and born in him through grace, that we may deserve to be his children, made by him a new creature: it is right that we should remain in this newness of life, and serve our God in holiness and justice before him all the days of our life.

The Lord ruleth me, and nothing shall be wanting to me: in a place of pasture there hath he placed me. It is said in another psalm, Thou shalt rule them with a rod of iron, that is, with unbending justice. For a king is appointed to this end, that he may spiritually rule his Church according to good morals and virtues: so that, governed by his rule, it may be led from the poverty of present misery to the pastures of eternal life. There nothing shall be wanting to it, where God shall be all in all. There is the place of pasture, which in this world begins from faith, there it is advanced in contemplation. Hence the Truth says, By me if any man enter in, he shall be saved: and he shall go in, and go out, and shall find pastures. He shall go in, namely to faith: he shall go out to contemplation.

He shall find pastures, when that shall be fulfilled which is said in another psalm, We shall be satisfied when thy glory shall appear. But because it is said through our Redeemer, Unless a man be born again of water and the Holy Spirit, he cannot enter into the kingdom of God: rightly it is added:

He hath brought me up on the water of refreshment, he hath converted my soul. The water of refreshment is the water of baptism: this sacrament is the beginning of regeneration and of salvation: there the soul is refreshed, and is brought up when it is washed from sins, imbued with faith, renewed in morals. There it is converted from the devil to God, from evil to good, from death to life, from iniquity to justice. Whence it is also added,

He hath led me on the paths of justice, for his own name's sake. What is meant by paths, if not the stricter precepts of justice, by which faithful souls are led to the heavenly kingdoms? For narrow and strait is the way that leads to heaven. Nor would it suffice to be brought up on the waters of refreshment, unless it should come about that one be perfected in works of justice. For as the Apostle testifies, faith without works is dead. And lest it should seem to ascribe this to its own justice, therefore it says, For his own name's sake: as if it said, Not for my merit. For not by works of justice which we have done, but according to his own mercy he saved us. Then this faithful soul shows that it is not only perfected in justice, but also fearless amid adversities, when it adds:

For though I should walk in the midst of the shadow of death, I will fear no evils, for thou art with me. The shadows of death are all the reprobate, imitators of the devil. For he himself is called by this name, as John says, And his name was Death. In the midst of the shadow of death were those to whom Paul said, In the midst of a crooked and perverse nation, among whom you shine as lights in the world, holding fast the word of life. But why he did not fear, being set in the midst of the wicked, he shows, saying, For thou art with me. Great is the security of having God with oneself. Whence the Apostle says, If God be for us, who is against us? Where the divine presence is, there it is impossible for vices to be present. Where the divine virtue is, it overcomes all adversities.

And because those whom God indwells, he sometimes usefully exercises with scourges, sometimes mercifully refreshes with spiritual and temporal goods: rightly it is added: Thy rod and thy staff, they have comforted me. Because by the rod we are struck, by the staff we are sustained: by the rod we understand discipline, by the staff, the support of consolation. In both ways the Lord comforts us, namely by scourges and by gifts. For he scourges us now for this reason, that in the future he may find nothing in us to punish. We are corrected for this, that we may be proved and cleansed, that negligence may be amended, patience proved, the crown bestowed. Whence it is written, Blessed is the man that endureth temptation, for when he hath been proved, he shall receive the crown of life. The rod of the Lord comforted the Apostle, when he said, We glory in tribulations. And because holy men, while afflicted outwardly, glory inwardly, full of the grace of God, it is well added:

Thou hast prepared a table before me, that now I may no longer be fed with milk, as a little one: but, being strengthened, may take food as one grown. Against them that afflict me. Or by the table we can understand sacred Scripture, which is prepared and set forth before our eyes: which sets before us the courses of diverse sentences, that we may be refreshed by them as by spiritual foods, lest we fail amid the adversities of this world. Whence Paul says, Whatsoever things are written, are written for our doctrine: that through patience and the consolation of the Scriptures we might have hope. And because Scripture itself profits nothing without grace, it is added, Thou hast anointed my head with oil. That is, thou hast made my mind glad with spiritual joy. Rightly by the head is understood the mind: because just as the members are ruled by the head, so thoughts are disposed by the mind.

The head then is anointed with oil, as often as our mind is anointed by the infusion of the Holy Spirit. Or the Lord prepared a table, when in his sacrament he gave us his flesh to eat, and his blood to drink. Hence it is that at the paschal supper, when the Lord was betrayed, as the disciples were at supper, Jesus took bread, and blessed and broke it, and gave it to his disciples, saying, Take and eat: this is my body. He also offered the cup of his blood, that they might drink of it, unto the remission of sins. Of this cup it is added: And my cup which inebrieth, how goodly is it! Truly goodly, whereby immaculate blood is offered. By this cup the affection of the faithful is inebriated, and puts on gladness from the remission of sins: which the head anointed with oil signifies.

By this bread the heart of the just is strengthened, by this oil made glad, by this cup, inebriated, it is changed from sins, is washed clean by mercy, is led forth into virtues. Then by the gift of that same mercy the faithful soul is lifted up to the heavenly fatherland. Whence it is added,

And thy mercy will follow me all the days of my life. The mercy of the Lord goes before his elect, and follows after. It goes before the unwilling, that he may will well: it helps the willing, that he may accomplish: it follows the one working, that he may merit to persevere. For not he who shall have begun, but he who shall have persevered unto the end, he shall be saved. Whence it is also added: And that I may dwell in the house of the Lord unto length of days. In that blessed house, where is the dwelling of the saints, there is no variety of days: but one day, and one eternity. For there shines the sun of justice, with whom there is no change, nor shadow of alteration. But because we are accustomed to measure long periods by the spans of days, sacred Scripture, speaking according to our custom, wished to designate eternal life by length of days.

Behold in what manner our God rules us, so that he may lead us to the pastures of life. He washes us with the waters of baptism, converts our souls from vices, and from the devil to God: he exalts us upon the paths of justice, strengthens us amid adversities, chastises with discipline, sustains with consolation, satisfies the mind with the food of truth, fills it with spiritual joy, inebriates it with charity. At the last he grants us perseverance unto the end, and after the end makes us dwell perpetually and happily in the heavenly house.

Let us lift, with the Lord's help, the veil of the present title, that the inner chambers of the psalm may become more clearly known to us. Its title is, A psalm of David, the first day of the week. It signifies the Lord's Day as the first of the week, which is the first after the sabbath, on which day the Lord rose from the dead: which, because of the excellence of so great a miracle, is properly called the Lord's Day. The psalm says that the earth is the Lord's, and was founded by him. It intends to admonish all the faithful to ascend the mountain of the Lord, the mountain of justice: to cleanse themselves from all defilement of flesh and spirit, to advance in good works, to keep themselves from all deceit: so that they may deserve to receive blessing and mercy from the Lord.

Likewise they are admonished to lift up the gates of the virtues to bring in the Lord, who is strong and mighty, the vanquisher of enemies and vices, the Lord of hosts, and the King of glory. This psalm is the voice of those congratulating Christ rising, as a victor returning from war. Let it be said then:

The earth is the Lord's, and the fullness thereof: the world, and all they that dwell therein. If we take these words according to the history, we ought from visible things to weigh within ourselves how great a veneration so great and such a Lord deserves, who was able to subject the whole world to his dominion. But if we take this spiritually, by the earth we can understand the Church, by its fullness, works and virtues. All of which are the Lord's, that is, made and disposed by the Lord. And lest anyone should think that only one land, or one nation, namely the Jewish, belonged to the Lord, he added: The world, and all they that dwell therein. When the Lord, being glorified, is announced unto the faith of all nations, his grace is abundantly distributed, sins are forgiven far and wide. Thousands of thousands are reconciled to the Lord, and the whole world becomes his Church. And deservedly: For he hath founded it upon the seas, and prepared it upon the rivers.

The earth or the world is said to be founded upon the seas, because it is surrounded on every side by the waters of the sea: just as we say some city is founded upon the sea, not because the sea is beneath it, but because at its outer edge it rises above the sea. But if these words signify something else, which pertains more to us: we can understand by the sea, the world: by the rivers, covetous men, who slip down into the age. Even these the Church surpasses, which, the worldly cupidities having been conquered through the grace of the Lord, is prepared by charity to receive immortality. The Church is founded upon the seas, being situated amid the bitter fluctuations of this age. Or it is founded upon the seas, not under the sea: because it is overcome by no torments of the impious. Or because vices do not rule it, but it rules over vices.

It is also prepared upon the rivers, because over peoples, and over princes and powers, who are designated by the name of rivers, teachers and prelates are set. Behold, the Church is placed on high: on high the Lord has situated his world, as an Emperor his palace. And what soldier shall ascend thither to the Emperor?

Who shall ascend into the mountain of the Lord, or who shall stand in his holy place? To ascend belongs to many, but to stand belongs only to the few and the perfect. Judas ascended, but he did not stand at all. Many others ascended, but having turned away, they departed backward. Who then shall so stand that he does not fall, that in the time of temptation he does not withdraw? There follows, and it says,

The innocent in hands and clean of heart, who has not received his soul in vain, nor sworn deceitfully to his neighbor. Innocent in hands and clean of heart is he who neither works nor thinks evil. For by hands we understand works, by heart, thoughts. But he receives his soul in vain who lives fruitlessly. In vain had they received their souls, to whom the head of the household said: Why do you stand here idle the whole day? Who, lest they remain idle in vanity, immediately heard, Go, you also into my vineyard, and what shall be just, I will give you. Whoever prepares himself to do good, this is he who has not received his soul in vain. To swear to one's neighbor deceitfully is to affirm the true as false, or the false as true, to him. He swears deceitfully to his neighbor who by affirming declares those words by which he might deceive him. He, therefore, who so does good that he is innocent in work, in thought, and in word,

This one shall receive blessing from the Lord, and mercy from God his savior. For he shall be among those to whom the Lord will say on the day of judgment, Come, you blessed of my Father. And this blessing will not be from his own merits, but from the mercy of his Savior, who saved us not by works of righteousness which we did, but according to his own mercy.

This is the generation of them that seek him, that seek the face of the God of Jacob. Of such, he says, is the Church constituted; thus are they born who seek him: who seek the face, that is, the knowledge, of the God of Jacob, the younger brother, in whom God commended his grace. For before either had done anything good or evil, it was said, Jacob have I loved, but Esau have I hated (alachi 1). As then grace divine was given to the younger brother, and not given to the elder: so still the Lord resists the proud, as though they were the elder, but gives his grace to the humble, as though they were the younger. A pause (Diapsalma).

Lift up your gates, O you princes, and be lifted up, you everlasting gates, and the King of glory shall come in. Man has five gates, namely the five senses of the body: sight, hearing, taste, smell, and touch. But unless these gates are guarded each by its own guardian, the devil frequently enters and departs through them. It is therefore fitting that these gates be closed to the devil, and opened to God. Whence also they are rightly here called princes, because they rule spiritually over these bodily senses. Those who strive to chastise their body, and bring it into servitude, lest sin reign in their mortal body: these are bidden to lift up their gates, namely the bodily senses, and to raise up the everlasting gates, which are faith, hope, and charity, and the other virtues; which are rightly named everlasting gates, because through them the entrance of the eternal homeland is opened. Through these gates also God enters into human hearts. Whence it is said: And the King of glory shall come in.

For he is the king of heaven and earth, the bestower of glory, the destroyer of pride: that he who glories, may glory in the Lord.

Mortal nature quakes in wonder, and asks: Who is this King of glory? The Lord strong and mighty, the Lord mighty in battle. He who took the form of a servant, behold, he is the Lord. Before, weak from corruption, now strong from immortality. Before, as it were powerless, when he was slain: now mighty in battle (1 Peter 2), when by his death he destroyed death, and rising from the dead vanquished the devil. And because there were two peoples, namely the Jewish and the gentile, who were to be saved by the grace of God: rightly what was said first to the Jewish people, is repeated afterward to the gentile, when it is added,

Lift up your gates, O you princes, and be lifted up, you everlasting gates, and the King of glory shall come in. Again human frailty trembles, and asks,

Who is this King of glory? The Lord of hosts, he is the King of glory. It is to be noted that above he is described as the Lord strong and mighty and mighty in battle: here, however, he is called of hosts and King of glory: because indeed among the Jews he endured the struggle of his passion, among the gentiles he obtained the glory of his power. Among those, on earth, he is afflicted with punishments; among these, already seated in heaven, he is made known by powers and miracles. Let us, then, honor our Lord and King, who mightily vanquished the powers of the air: and let us give thanks to him, who mercifully bestows power and glory on his servants.

The title of the following work is, A Psalm of David. Since we have frequently said what a Psalm is, and what is meant by David, it is not necessary that we delay on these matters here. It is the voice, in this psalm, of a faithful soul, converted from the death of unbelief to faith, persevering in prayer. It intends, moreover, to instruct us by its example, that after we have been converted to the faith, we should not return to our vomit: but that we should persevere in our good resolve, and give ourselves to prayer. The voice of the Church.

To you, O Lord, have I lifted up my soul; my God, in you I trust, let me not be ashamed. When my soul deserted you, it was trodden down in the earth by carnal desires. For man, departing from God, is at once handed over to the power of vices. And from this, that I trusted in myself, I was brought even to this hardship which I suffer. And I, who, having forsaken God, wished to be as God, cast out from the joys of paradise, was shamefully mocked because of my pride. And because it went ill with me without you, having turned back, I lifted up my soul to you. Now I confess you as my God, in you I place my confidence. I shall be ashamed no longer, corrupted by sin.

Neither let my enemies laugh at me. That is, let them not cast me down by their serpent-like and hidden suggestions lying in wait. For they are worthy of mockery, who, deceived by diabolical persuasions, depart from their good resolve; who fall back into vices after virtues. But the enemies could not mock him, whom the divine goodness has made to remain in his good resolve. Whence it is added: For all that wait for you shall not be confounded. He waits for God, who can be moved by no temptations from him. Hence Truth says to his disciples, You are they who have continued with me in my temptations. These indeed shall not be confounded, but rather shall glory, because it is written, Blessed is the man who endures temptation: for when he has been proved, he shall receive the crown of life. Whereas of the reprobate it is said, Woe to them who have lost endurance.

They lose endurance indeed, who, while they think to dwell long among these visible things, abandon the hope of things invisible: of whom it is added:

Let all who do iniquitous things be confounded, in vain. In vain, I say, do the reprobate act, because they carry away with them nothing of the fruit of their labor. For one exhausts himself in obtaining honors, another burns to multiply his wealth, another pants after earning praises. But since each one, dying, leaves all these things behind, he has lost his labors in vain, who carried nothing before the judge with him. Then is every reprobate confounded, when the judge is seen without, and every fault is brought back before his eyes; when the accuser is endured within, and the mind is tortured more grievously than by the fires of hell by its own fire. This also turns to the confusion of the reprobate, that they behold the glory of the elect, so that, driven back, they may see, to the greater torments of their guilt, what they have lost: the utmost confusion of these is eternal damnation.

Lest, being converted, this soul incur this by walking through the broad way, he humbly entreats his Lord, saying, Show me your ways, O Lord, and teach me your paths. By ways may be understood the broader and lesser precepts of righteousness. By paths, however, the higher and perfect commandments. It belongs to the broader way of righteousness, when it is commanded to give a tenth of one's possessions, to refresh the poor, to clothe the naked, to redeem sins by almsgiving, and to devote oneself to the other works of mercy. But it seems to belong to the paths, when we are bidden to renounce all that we have, to despise all things that are of the world, to deny ourselves, to love God with our whole heart. These spiritual ways and paths the Lord shows to his elect, both outwardly in the Scriptures, and does not cease to teach inwardly in the heart by the inspiration of grace: that being instructed, they may know both how to avoid error, and to be directed in truth.

And therefore he adds;

Direct me in your truth, and teach me: for you are God my Savior, and I have waited for you all the day. Because I have nothing in myself except the crookedness of sin, and the falsehood of error, it is therefore necessary that you direct the crooked one in truth, and teach the ignorant one. Which you ought to do, because you are my God, who created me, my Savior, who redeemed me: whom I have waited for all the day, that is, expected assiduously. Not one day passed in which I did not wait for you: nor could I be moved by prosperity or adversity, so as not always to place my hope in you.

Or, after the ways and paths were known, that is, after the broader commandments were known, such as, You shall not kill, you shall not commit adultery, you shall not steal, and the like: and after the higher commandments were known, such as, You shall love your neighbor as yourself, and, Whatever you would that men should do to you, do also to them, and, Love your enemies, do good to them that hate you. After you have shown and taught these ways and paths, Direct me in your truth, that is, make me upright in the working of righteousness: And teach me, that is, make it known to me, that you are God my Savior, that is, creator and redeemer. As if he were to say, Teach me the ways, by which I may come to the truth: which having been accomplished, I may attain to knowing and enjoying you yourself, who are truth and life, and, attaining, may I persevere in waiting.

That this may be able to come to pass, Remember your compassions, O Lord, and your mercies, which are from of old. No forgetfulness falls upon God, that he might remember: for to him, who is true wisdom, all things are present. But he speaks according to human usage, when he entreats God to remember. For God had, as it were, forgotten his compassions, when, as though angry, he permitted the human race to lie under sin. He prays, therefore, that God remember his compassions and his mercies, which have been tasted beforehand from of old. For from eternity God had preordained, through his mercy, to redeem the human race. And well he says, of compassions and mercies. For compassions pertain to the showing forth, mercies to the foreordaining, of his great mercy. Many are his compassions. Whence in himself he is merciful, and thence he is compassionate toward us. He recognizes himself, therefore, as wretched, who begs that the mercy, by which he may be spared, be recalled to memory. Whence he also adds:

The sins of my youth, and my ignorances remember not. He says, "Of my youth," because this age is always more prone to sin. And in this age especially each one ought to correct himself, as it is written, Son, from thy youth accept instruction. And it must be known that every sin is committed in three ways: that is, either by deliberate will, or by weakness, or by ignorance. Judas sinned by deliberate will, Peter by weakness, Paul by ignorance. He includes the sins of deliberate will and of weakness when he says, "The sins of my youth." For youth (as we have said) is prone to evil and weak toward transgression. But he designates the sins of ignorance when he adds, "And my ignorances remember not." As if he were saying, The offenses I have committed, whether through deliberate will, or through weakness, or through ignorance, do not recall to memory, do not keep in reserve for vengeance; but let them fall away from you as it were, and forget my offenses, and let your mercy remember me.

And this is what he adds: "According to your mercy remember me, you." Not according to the wrath which I have deserved. "For your goodness' sake, Lord." Not on account of my merit. I indeed am wretched, you are merciful; I am evil, you are good. Do not, then, regard me from myself, but regard me from yourself. For from myself comes my condemnation, from you my salvation. Whence it follows:

Sweet and upright is the Lord: therefore he will give a law to sinners in the way. In sweetness gentleness is signified, in uprightness justice. Often when we pursue uprightness we abandon gentleness, and when we desire to preserve gentleness we depart from the uprightness of justice. But our Lord and Redeemer so tempers both in himself, that neither does sweetness in any way diminish uprightness, nor uprightness sweetness. He is so sweet that he forgives sins; he is so upright that after the grace of calling and pardon he requires worthy merits at the final judgment. For this reason the law was given to sinners in the way: that each one, from the law shown to him, may recognize in what he has sinned, or how he may be able to amend what he has committed. For because the Lord is sweet, therefore he does not wish the death of the sinner, but that he be converted and live. Again, because he is upright, he does not leave that same sin unpunished.

For this reason, then, the law is given to sinners, that according to the law they may either be corrected or judged. When you hear that your Lord is sweet, take heed what you should love. When you hear "upright," take heed what you should fear: so that, roused by love and fear of God, you may keep his law. For charity fulfills the law: chaste fear preserves charity. Both these virtues extinguish vices and beget virtues. Whence it is added:

He will guide the meek in judgment, he will teach the mild his ways. Those are called meek who are quiet in themselves: who do not grow angry, do not contend, do not quarrel. The mild are those who patiently endure the insults, angers, and injuries of others. Of such the Truth itself says, Upon whom does my spirit rest, but upon the humble and quiet, and him that trembles at my words? Such the Lord guides in judgment, because they have the Spirit of God: and the spiritual man judges all things, but he himself is judged by no one. Such do not presume to rule themselves, and therefore are guided by the Lord: for they make him their ruler, nor do they kick against it when the sweet yoke and light burden are placed upon them. What ways he will teach them, he shows when he adds:

All the ways of the Lord are mercy and truth, to them that seek his covenant and his testimonies. These ways he will teach them, that is, mercy, whereby he is appeasable, and truth, whereby he is incorrupt. Of these he has shown the one by forgiving sins, the other by judging merits. And therefore, "all the ways of the Lord." There are two comings of the Son of God: one showing mercy, the other judging. Now they understand the Lord as merciful in the first coming, and as judge in the second: those who, meek and mild, seek his covenant, by which he redeemed us with his blood into new life; and in the prophets and Evangelists they seek his testimonies, which bear witness to that same redemption. And so he adds:

For your name's sake, Lord, you will be propitious to my sin, for it is great. Because your way is one of mercy, therefore you will be propitious to my sin not on account of my merit, but on account of your name. It is indeed necessary for us that you remember not only the sins of our youth and past negligences, but also that you be propitious to our daily sin. For it is great, as the Apostle testifies, who says, in many things we all offend. For as long as we live here mortally, we cannot be without much sin. But we have Christ as our propitiator, who intercedes for us. Whence we ought not to presume upon ourselves, but to fear. For by fearing God we begin to avoid sin, to leave the path of error, and to hold the way of truth. And because it is a great thing to fear God, and few there are who fear him, he inquires who fears him, and shows what fruit thence proceeds. He says therefore,

Who is the man that fears the Lord? As if he were saying, Whoever he is, he is great, he is blessed. Thence he begins to come to wisdom. For the fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom. Whence it is added: He has established a law for him in the way that he has chosen: and not for one still sinning, but for one turning himself to God through fear and humility. God established, for one persevering, not the law of the letter, which was given to sinners in the way (for the law was given on account of transgressors), but the law of grace, which was not only given but established, and immovably fixed for one making progress, not in just any way, but in the way that he has chosen, which is Christ. In this way is placed the one who fears God, and there the divine law is established for him, by which he may live spiritually to God. Whence he adds:

His soul shall dwell in good things, and his seed shall inherit the land. For he delights in the law of God according to the inward man, he burns with heavenly desires, he cleaves to spiritual pursuits, he exercises himself in good works. His seed indeed is good works: whence the Apostle admonishes us, saying, But in doing good, let us not fail: for in due time we shall reap, not fainting. And again, He who sows sparingly shall also reap sparingly. Rightly, however, he said that his seed inherits the land: because the good work, which he sows as it were when he does it, will make him possess the heavenly inheritance and the land of the living. And lest he seem to presume upon good works, as though he were strong through them, he adds:

The Lord is a firmament to them that fear him: and his covenant, that it may be made manifest to them. In itself indeed the Church is fragile and weak: but because it is founded upon the firm rock, therefore the gates of hell will not prevail against it. But because he thus strengthens her by his grace, he himself in his covenant promises her that he will show himself. Hence in the Gospel the Truth says of one who loves him, I will love him, and will manifest myself to him. The reward of our labor is the vision of God: when we shall have seen him, there will be nothing further for us to seek. Hence Philip says, Lord, show us the Father, and it is enough for us. And because the Church of the elect, as long as it lives here bodily, continually shows there its desires, he therefore adds,

My eyes are ever toward the Lord, for he will pluck my feet out of the snare. Bodily eyes are not to be understood here. For God is not seen by bodily sight. By "eyes," then, the sense of the inward man; by "snare," any temptation; by "feet," the affections of the mind may be understood. From this snare of various temptations no one is plucked out, except one whose intention and desire is lifted up on high.

Do not, then, look back, if you wish to be fit for the kingdom of God. Let your eyes, your senses, your heart, your desire be toward the Lord your God. And he himself will pluck you out of every snare and impediment, from every temptation and deceit. And so, praying, he adds:

Look upon me, and have mercy on me, for I am alone and poor. I attend to you: you look upon me: I attend by desiring, you look by having mercy. It is mine to love you, it is yours to save me. Because I am your only one, preserving the unity of your one Church (which no schisms or heresies hold), persevering in one faith, hope, and charity, I am, and your poor one, not seeking gold or silver, not possessions or riches above you. Not presuming upon myself, not puffed up in spirit, but humble in heart: seeking nothing else but you. Wherefore look upon your only one, have mercy on your poor one.

The tribulations of my heart are multiplied: bring me out of my necessities. By the tribulations of the heart are understood the inward passions of the soul, such as vices and evil desires, delights of the mind and concupiscences, and other such things by which the heart is troubled. Necessities pertain to the body, by which the outward man is afflicted, as in hunger and thirst, cold and heat, in weakness and corruption of the flesh, and other similar things; which are called necessities because they are as it were natural, and, whether we will or not, happen to us. From these tribulations of the heart and necessities of the body the holy man asks to be delivered, that he may be able to be clothed with blessed immortality. And because there are some who, when they experience such things, bear them impatiently: rebel in heart, murmur with the tongue, despise the scourges of almighty God, and, whence they ought to be purified, thence by pride tend to grow worse, he therefore adds,

See my humility and my labor, and forgive all my sins. Affliction of heart and body is the punishment of sin. But if this is endured with a humble and patient heart, the wondrous mercy of almighty God is at work, so that whence the fault is punished, thence pardon follows. Therefore he asks that his humility be seen, by which he patiently bears labor; so that from the endurance of labors he may merit pardon for his offenses. "All," he says, "forgive": that is, past, present, and future. Not only those of my youth and of my ignorance before I believed, but also those which now, living by faith, I commit through weakness or the darkness of this life. To increase further the heap of tribulation which he suffers, he adds, saying:

Consider my enemies, for they are multiplied, and have hated me with an unjust hatred. For not only outside, but even within the very communion of the Church, enemies are not lacking. Outside are the Jews and pagans, within are heretics, who err in faith, and false Christians, who assail the faith by their conduct. These are they who hate the Church with unjust hatred. Just hatred is when the fault is hated and the nature loved. But unjust hatred is when the fault is loved and the nature hated. Or the hatred is unjust when someone hates a friend. "Consider my enemies." As if he were saying, by attending to them, protect me. Therefore he adds:

Guard my soul, and deliver me: let me not be ashamed, for I have hoped in thee. Guard, lest it perish: deliver, that it may escape: let me not be ashamed, that I fall not from my purpose. And therefore thou oughtest to do these things, because I have hoped in thee. That which the Church prays here, the Lord ceases not daily to do in his elect: whom, as it were, he both deserts by guarding, and guards by deserting. He permits their hearts to be shaken by temptations: their bodies to be afflicted by necessities, to be harassed by the hatreds of the wicked: but while he relaxes these things to the enemy, he always reserves the soul to himself. For the ancient enemy, both by himself and through his members, maliciously seeks to tempt holy men: which almighty God permits to happen only with benign purpose, namely, that the good which lies hidden may appear, and that virtue may increase through patience.

But the elect, while they feel the temptations of the malignant enemy within and without, presuming nothing of themselves, at once have recourse to the help of God their protector; they humbly entreat that they may not commit things to be ashamed of, and that they may deserve to be heard, they strengthen themselves with the fortitude of hope. And when the perfect do this, they draw the rest to themselves by example. Whence it is added:

The innocent and the upright have adhered to me, because I have waited on thee. Innocent in morals, upright in faith. Innocent in those things which they do in the lowest matters, upright in the highest things which they discern. Those who live innocently, who seek the heavenly homeland out of desire, just as they desire to be disjoined from the evil, so they desire to adhere to the good. For just as evil communications corrupt good manners, so good communications build up good manners. And it is written, With the holy thou shalt be holy, and with the innocent man thou shalt be innocent. Therefore the holy adhere to the holy, the innocent to the innocent: that they may build one another up in turn by words and manners, and share their own goods with one another through charity: so that each may grow in good from the other.

Meanwhile, while they patiently endure so many evils, and while they toil ardently in good works, while they are strengthened by the uprightness of hope, lest, set amid such great tribulations, their endurance be emptied: that they may be able to escape, they implore God the deliverer as suppliants, saying:

Deliver, O God, Israel out of all his tribulations. Israel is interpreted, the man seeing God. As if he were to say, Deliver, O God, the people whom thou hast prepared to contemplate thee, out of all his tribulations. Not only from those which they endure outwardly, but from those which they suffer inwardly. Let us also strive to lift up our souls to the Lord, to place our confidence in him, to learn his humble and lofty commands: that we may deserve to be directed in truth, and to behold with the mind wisdom itself (which is God): that through his mercy we may be stripped of the sins of youth and ignorance: that, gentle and mild, we may follow the ways of mercy and truth: that, cleansed by the propitiating Lord from daily sin, we may fear him, and, set in the way (which is Christ), may possess the law of his grace, through whom we may dwell in good things and enjoy the eternal inheritance.

Meanwhile having God as our firmament, to whom we may direct the eyes of the mind: until we be plucked out of the snare of this world, and through his mercy be freed from all tribulations, made Israel spiritually, contemplating in his majesty the Lord our God.

The title of the following Psalm is, A Psalm of David. This scripture is to be attributed to the more excellent member of the Church, praying to God above, and here showing that it has been heard, and has obtained through Divine mercy innocence and perfection: praying furthermore that it not be moved from its purpose. And this it does, so that those from whom it is morally separated, from these it may also be separated eternally. Its intention is to invite us by its example to innocence and perfection. It says therefore:

Judge me, O Lord, for I have walked in my innocence: and trusting in the Lord, I shall not be weakened. He who has guilt fears judgment. He himself, then, is perfect: because he saw his cause to be just, he asked to be judged by the Lord. He rightly recalls that he entered upon innocence: because innocence is the spiritual way by which one tends toward God: and to live innocently pertains to the inner man. But that he pronounces himself innocent is not the pride of one who is elated, but the confession of one who is not ungrateful. As if he were to say: After the mercy which thou didst grant me beforehand, I have some merit of my innocence, whose way I have kept. Yet not even so in myself; but trusting in the Lord, I shall not be weakened in my work, but shall persevere: that as I began, so I may finish. If he presumed upon himself, if he gloried in himself, without doubt he would be weakened.

But because he places his hope in the Lord, now he cannot be weakened: because the Lord himself is his strength.

Prove me, O Lord, and try me: burn my reins and my heart. I said, judge me; but if there is anything in me to be purged, O Lord, here try me, and correct me with the scourge of sons, and thus prove me, that is, render me proven: burn my reins, that is, destroy the delights of the flesh (because pleasures abound most in the reins), and my heart, that is, wicked thoughts. Burn my reins and my heart: as if he were to say, Apply spiritual medicine to my outward and inward vices. Holy men, even though they live perfectly, still desire paternal scourgings: that they may tend the more perfectly toward the homeland, the more that the pious striking discipline daily purges them even of the smallest things. And therefore they endure discipline, that they may obtain mercy: concerning which it is added, For thy mercy is before my eyes, and I have been well pleased in thy truth. A truthful master beats his lying disciple: the beaten disciple pays heed, and asks mercy from the master.

So does the heavenly master and pious father act toward us. We have sinned, therefore we are scourged. He beats, we wait, that he may spare. Thy mercy (he says) is before my eyes, I bear thy discipline patiently: but I wait unceasingly that thou mayest have mercy. And now I have pleased thee in the truth of the vengeance which I deserved, I who first displeased in the falsehood of the fault by which I transgressed. And because by falling I deserved wrath, having been corrected by thee I found mercy.

From this moreover it appears that I have walked in my innocence: because I have not sat with the council of vanity, and with those that do unjust things I will not go in. Those sit with the council of vanity, who dwell in their assembly, who come together out of zeal and are given to this, that they may speak of vanity. To go in with those doing iniquity is to enter into the fellowship of those acting wickedly, and to insert oneself into iniquitous works, along with the wicked themselves, by choice. Such is the zeal of the perverse and the carnal. For either they sit and are given to vain loquacity, or they toil hard at iniquitous action. Contrary to this, holy men, that they may be held blameless in word and deed, both restrain the tongue from vanity, and keep their life from iniquitous work. And because it is prior not to love an evil thing, and then also to hate it, it is rightly subjoined:

I have hated the assembly of the malignant, and with the impious I will not sit. I have hated not men, but transgressors, not nature, but guilt. The malignant are those who labor to this end, that they surpass their fellows in malice. The impious are the unfaithful, who do not worship the Lord. For piety properly pertains to the worship of God. From all these, though not in body, yet in life and manners the Church is separated: namely from those torpid with idleness, and given over to vanity, from those working iniquity, from those studiously heaping up their own malice, from the unfaithful. And it is to be noted that first he said, I have not sat: here he says, With the impious I will not sit. There the beginning, here perseverance is designated. For it is necessary that the good which is begun be carried through to the end. But let us hear from whom he who separates himself from the wicked is joined.

I will wash my hands among the innocent, and I will encompass thy altar, O Lord. You do not wash your hands with visible water, when you think piously of your works: and you are innocent before the eyes of God, who is also the altar before the eyes of God, into which the priest entered, who first offered himself for us. There is a heavenly altar, which none embraces except him who washes his hands among the innocent, having himself been made innocent. For many touch this altar unworthily, and God allows his sacraments to suffer injury for a time. But you are not received among the evil within the walls of the Church in the same way as you are received among the evil in the bosom of Abraham.

Do not fear, then: wash your hands, and encompass the altar of God, where you offer vows to the Lord, where you pour out prayers, where your conscience is pure, where you tell God who you are; and if there is anything else that displeases God, he takes care of it, to whom you confess. Why do you encompass the altar of God, holy man? There follows, and he says:

That I may hear the voice of praise, and tell all thy wondrous works. To hear the voice of praise is to understand inwardly: because whatever evil is in you is from your sins, and whatever good, is in the justifications of God. Thus you will hear the voice of praise, so that you do not praise yourself. And when you are good, you also hear divine praises inwardly, which the Lord your God speaks in you, and there, in hearing, you speak, so that you may tell all his wondrous works, corporeal and spiritual, visible and invisible. It pertains to the wondrous works of the Lord, when someone is raised up in body. But it pertains to greater wondrous works, when someone is raised up in soul. It is a great miracle, when he who was dead rises alive. It is greater, when he who was impious rises pious: when he who was luxurious rises chaste: when he who was proud rises humble.

These outward wondrous works avail for faith: the inward ones for the edification of morals: the praises of the Lord for love. To this end the Lord your God is praised: to this end he is proclaimed wondrous, that you may love, believe, and hope. Love him who is praiseworthy, believe and hope in him who is wondrous. To this pertains what follows.

Lord, I have loved the beauty of thy house, and the place where thy glory dwelleth. The house of God is the Church, its beauty is justice, the place of dwelling is eternal rest. And rightly he set beauty of the house before, then the place of dwelling: because by loving and pursuing justice one attains to the glory of eternal rest. And because each elect, however much he may progress, still fears to be rejected, he humbly beseeches the merciful God, saying,

Destroy not, O God, my soul with the impious, nor my life with men of blood. The impious are those who hate God, men of blood those who hate their neighbor. For he that hateth his brother is a murderer. These are the assembly of the malignant, who hold the council of vanity, with which the holy man declares he has not sat. And it is to be noted that he does not say, In the council: but, With the council. For one may sit in the council of vanity to some benefit, when he sits there for this purpose, that he may free the innocent, or that he may refute vanity itself. But to sit with the council of vanity is to consent to that same council. Which because he did not do, he now prays that he who was not a partaker in the guilt, may also not be a partaker in the punishment. And this is the judgment which he asks from the Lord, that he be discerned from the evil with whom he dwells.

In whose hands are iniquities, their right hand is filled with gifts. Just as that which we hold in our hands we have ready at hand: so they are said to have iniquities in their hands, because they always have evildoing ready at hand. In the hands of those men are iniquities, who are prepared for homicide, for theft, for plunder, and for doing other evils. Those are they who press on with burning zeal to acquire gain, seeking on every side, so that their right hand may be filled with gifts. But since it is said not "hand" but "right hand," something more subtle is signified to us by this word. For it is the custom of the depraved to turn a gift of grace into an increase of guilt. Well then does he say, Their right hand is filled with gifts: because what was given them for obtaining eternal salvation, they have turned to the receiving of the gifts of this age, esteeming godliness to be gain.

These are they who sell their wisdom, who demand a price for justice, who even labor at spiritual pursuits at times, that they may acquire something earthly. But because the man of God shakes his hand free of every gift, and whatever he does, he does purely and for God's sake: not that he might desire to lay up treasure here, but that he might escape free from this captivity: he suppliantly implores his Redeemer, saying,

But I have walked in my innocence; redeem me, and have mercy on me. May the price of the blood of my Lord avail me so much toward the perfection of deliverance, that in the perils of this life your mercy may not forsake me.

My foot has stood in the straight way. That is, my affection has not departed from justice. Why "in the straight way"? Because he had said above, And hoping in the Lord I shall not be weakened. He wavers among the wicked who does not hope in the Lord. From this it has come about that schisms arise. But what is concluded? In the churches I will bless you, O Lord. He who blesses the Lord with his tongue, and curses him by his deeds, does not bless the Lord in the churches. Rather, he is among those of whom it is said, Woe to those through whom the name of the Lord is blasphemed. This, then, is to bless the Lord in the churches: to live in such a way that the Lord is blessed through each one's manner of life.

The Lord is my illumination, and my salvation, whom shall I fear? The Lord is the protector of my life, of whom shall I be afraid? There are three things which he mentions: illumination, salvation, protection. These three render a man fearless against all adversities. For if God illumines him, so that he may see right things: if he heals him, so that the right things he has seen he may fulfill in deed. Then if he protects him, lest, being tempted, he fall: what remains that he ought to fear? The true light has come, which enlightens every man coming into this world. He has redeemed my soul, he has enlightened it, he protects it lest it be lost, of whom shall I be afraid? I see enemies, I see tyrants rushing upon me: but I fear no one, relying on the Lord's admonition, by which it is said, Do not fear those who kill the body, but cannot kill the soul. Whence it is added:

While the harmful ones draw near against me, to eat my flesh: My enemies who afflict me, they have grown weak and fallen. The harmful ones draw near, enemies invade me, foes besiege me: that they may eat my flesh, that they may tear me apart and kill me, that they may deceive the carnal and imperfect, and join them to their wicked body. Or "to eat flesh" is to consume carnal affections with the fire of tribulation: but in this they are weakened by their own strength, and fall defeated, in that they cannot break through into the interior of the soul. Whence he also adds further:

If camps should stand against me, my heart shall not fear. If the army of the impious, if the assault of vices, if the assembly of demons should rise up with gathered forces and ordered battle-line, my heart doubts nothing: which almighty God confirms by illumining, healing, protecting. If war should rise up against me, so that the aforesaid enemies wish to defeat me, in this I shall hope. In what? He continues and says:

One thing I have asked of the Lord, this will I seek, that I may dwell in the house of the Lord all the days of my life. The temptations and tribulations of this age are of value to us for attaining the kingdom of God. Whence holy Church, while it endures wars below, lifts up its hope on high: and the more grievous things it suffers here, the greater reward it awaits there. Hence in the Gospel the Lord says, When men shall curse you, and persecute you on my account: rejoice in that hour, for your reward is great in heaven. Let us see, then, what one thing he asks, who, set amid adversities, fears nothing. What is that one thing? That I may dwell (he says) in the house of the Lord all the days of my life. That is called a house where we shall remain forever. In this pilgrimage it is properly called a tabernacle, which pertains to those who are warring and fighting against the enemy.

What we shall do in that house you have in another psalm: Blessed (he says) are they who dwell in your house, O Lord, they shall praise you forever and ever. Burning with this desire, and glowing with love, he longs to dwell in the house of the Lord through all the days of his life. Days, I say, not to be ended, but eternal. Days are spoken of here just as years are, of which it is said, And your years shall not fail. For the day of eternal life is one day without setting. This, then, he says: I have desired this one thing from the Lord, this one thing I have asked, this I will seek. And as if we should say: What are you going to do? Why do you ask this? That I may see (he says) the will of the Lord, and visit his temple. Behold what I love. Behold why I wished to dwell in the house of the Lord, that I might contemplate his delight.

For now I see through a glass, in an enigma: but then face to face. Now I know in part, but then I shall know even as I am known. Well does he say, and visit his temple; because that blessed vision will not be fulfilled except in the vision of the temple of God, which he rightly names both house and temple. It is called a house, because it is inhabited by the saints. A temple, because there praises are paid to the Lord. That I may arrive there, then, whence I make this promise to myself: he continues and says,

For he has hidden me in his tabernacle in the day of evils: he has protected me in the secret place of his tabernacle. The day of evils is the present life, in which evil occurs. Whence the Apostle says, Redeeming the time, because the days are evil. The tabernacle is the present Church, in which we do battle. The Son of God took flesh from this tabernacle, and became for us the hiding-place of the tabernacle. He hides us in the tabernacle through faith, he protects us in Christ unto salvation: We are sons of God, but it does not yet appear what we shall be. For we walk by faith, and not by sight. You have died (says the Apostle) and your life is hidden with Christ in God. And because God thus hides us from vices, and protects us in Christ, so that in him he may exalt us to virtues: rightly he adds,

He has exalted me upon a rock, and now he has lifted up my head above my enemies. The Lord Jesus Christ is both the rock and the head. Of this rock the Lord himself says, And upon this rock I will build my Church. Founded firmly upon this rock, he is exalted from the world to heaven, from the devil to the Lord: where even now, while the body tarries and labors among enemies on earth, he already says that his head, that is, Christ, has been exalted, For he has risen from the dead, and sits at the right hand of the Father in heaven. Let the members, then, be confident and not fear enemies: since they already now see their head exalted above them. For where the head is, there the members will also follow. We too are with him above. He too is with us below. Behold what a pledge we have.

Whence also by faith and hope and charity we are with our head in heaven forever: because he too, in goodness, in divinity, in unity, is with us on earth even to the consummation of the age. Whence the Church does not cease to offer him praises and sacrifices. Therefore he adds, I have gone about, and offered in his tabernacle a sacrifice of jubilation: I will sing and recite a psalm to the Lord. I have considered the faith of the whole world, in which my head is exalted, above those who were persecuting me. And in that very tabernacle, that is, in the Church spread throughout the whole world, I have praised the Lord with all my strength. To cry out is to raise the voice with great force. We offer to God a sacrifice of jubilation, when we offer him praises with great devotion and contrition of heart. In what he says, I will sing and recite a psalm, he suggests the frequency of divine service.

Singing pertains to the joyfulness of praise, but the psalm to the exercise of good work. Thus is our praise acceptable to God, if we praise him with voice, heart, and deed. Then he asks to be heard, when he adds,

Hear, O Lord, my voice, with which I have cried to you; have mercy on me, and hear me. Let us groan now, let us pray now. There is no groaning except for the wretched, no prayer except for the needy. Prayer will pass away, praise will succeed. Weeping will pass away, joy will succeed. Meanwhile now, while we are in the days of evils, let not our prayer cease toward God, from whom we ask that one thing. And let us not desist from that petition, until we arrive at that thing, by his gift and guidance, until all desires are ended, and one desire remains in the heart and in our petition. Whence it is also added:

To you my heart has said, my face has sought you: your face, O God, I will seek. As if he should say, My prayer is not in lips alone, but brought forth from the heart. My face has sought you, that is, my intention, my faith, my mind, in which you know me: your face, O God, I will seek—not honor, not glory, not riches do I seek; your face, your beauty, your vision, is my desire.

Turn not away your face from me, do not decline in wrath from your servant. Perhaps he turns away from someone, not in wrath, in the way he does from some who say to him, Turn away your face from my sins. When he turns his face away from your sins, he does not decline from you in wrath. Let him turn his face away, then, from your sins, but let him not turn his face away from you. His wrath is nothing but the averting of his countenance. Be my helper: do not forsake me, nor despise me, O God my salvation. Behold, I am on the way: I have asked of you one thing, free will: I have it. I know the right things I ought to do: but without you I am able to do nothing. Be, then, my helper, that I may make progress: do not forsake me, lest I fall: nor despise me, lest I perish: which you ought to do, since you are my God, who created me, and my salvation, who redeemed me.

I have no helper apart from you.

For my father and my mother have forsaken me, but the Lord hath taken me up. Apart from those two parents of whose flesh we are born, we have here another father, and another mother; or rather, we have had them. The father according to the age is the devil, and he was our father when we were unbelievers. For the Lord says to unbelievers, You are of your father the devil. He is the father of all the impious; he himself works in the children of unbelief. The mother is that Babylonian society of all the lost, from the east even unto the west. She has an earthly kingdom. This was our first mother; in her we were born. We have known another father, God; we have left the devil. We have known another mother, the heavenly Jerusalem, which is the holy Church, a portion of which sojourns on earth; we have left Babylon. We have been separated from the world and the devil.

The Lord has taken us up as a Father, because he made us, because he calls, because he commands, because he rules. He has taken us up as a mother, because he cherishes, because he nourishes, because he suckles, because he holds us close. But let us hear what he who is taken up by the Lord asks:

Set me a law, O Lord, in thy way, and guide me in a right path, because of my enemies. The way of the Lord in this place can be understood as faith; the right path, charity, of which the Apostle says to his disciples, I show unto you yet a more excellent way; and he began to speak of charity. The enemies of the holy Church are those living carnally, and heretics, who, by living wickedly and teaching perversely, oppress the servants of God. The holy man therefore asks that a law be set for him in the way, and that he be guided by God into the path, so that, instructed by the law, he may rightly believe, and, guided by grace, he may go forward rightly in loving and working. And this he does because of his enemies, who draw to error or iniquity (if they can) those whom they find less instructed or imperfect. Concerning whom it is further added:

Deliver me not over into the souls of them that trouble me, for unjust witnesses have risen up against me, and iniquity hath lied to itself. If thou deliver my flesh into their hands, deliver not me—that is, my soul—into the souls, that is, the wills of them, so that they may wholly accomplish their mind and desire concerning me; so that if they kill the body, they may not kill the soul. For that they might turn me back from thee, they have risen up against me, bearing witness to iniquity and falsehood. For often false witnesses have risen up against the saints, affirming them to be transgressors of the law and seducers. But iniquity has lied to itself, not to the saints, because their lie has turned back upon themselves for punishment and damnation, but for the saints it turns to glory. For it must be noted in this matter, that things which are good, by the assault of evil men, not only do not fail, but are even known to be more good.

If the doctrine of the Church were simple, and no one from outside pressed it with the assertions of heretical dogmas, our faith could not seem so clear and so well-tested. But for this reason the assault of gainsayers besets Catholic doctrine, that our faith may not grow idle and sluggish, but be refined by exercise. For this reason too the Apostle said, For there must be also heresies, that they who are approved may be made manifest. Among us, indeed, if you take away the virtues of the soul, the devil himself, and the contrary powers striving against us, cannot shine forth without an adversary to strive against. So too the glory of the faithful cannot shine resplendent, unless the reproof and punishment of the unfaithful commends it. After that going about and shout of joy, after these dangers and labors, placed in the hands of them that trouble him, sweating, panting, laboring, yet firm and certain, with the Lord receiving, leading, and ruling him, let us hear what he adds:

I believe to see the good things of the Lord in the land of the living. O good things of the Lord, sweet, immortal, everlasting! When shall I see you? I believe, he says, to see. For the just man lives by faith. What is faith? To believe what you do not see. For the things that are seen are temporal; they are in the land of the dying. But the things that are not seen are eternal; they are in the land of the living. It is called "land" by a figure, on account of its stability. No one there perishes, but always remains and lives in blessedness. But what does the Apostle say? But if we hope for that we see not, we wait for it with patience. Rightly, therefore, does divine Scripture admonish us, saying:

Expect the Lord, do manfully, and let thy heart take courage, and wait thou for the Lord. Hence it is said through the Prophet: If it make delay, wait for it, for it shall come, and shall not tarry. If it is deferred, it is not taken away. Many neglect to wait for the Lord, because his reward is not given in the present, but reserved for the future. Therefore they grow weary and remain by the way. Therefore you are divinely admonished to act manfully, that is, bravely, and, strengthened in heart, to endure patiently. For it is not enough to do good manfully, unless from strength of soul you also strive to bear evils with equanimity. Do not be dissolved, lest you be among those to whom it is said, Woe to them that have lost patience! He who loses patience is effeminate, he loses vigor. Work therefore manfully, endure patiently, that by living well you may be just, and by suffering, perfect. So the good things you believe, you shall see.

So you shall bring right works to a perfect end.

A psalm for David himself, that is, for the more excellent member of the Church. It is the business of the Church crying out to the Lord, that he may so hear her prayer as not to destroy her along with the workers of iniquity, but grant her what she has deserved; and that he not leave the wicked unpunished. By doing this she intends to persuade, that each of the faithful, by her example, set his heart on the Lord, so that his flesh may flourish again in him. Or because it says, for David himself, it is the voice of the Mediator himself, strong of hand in the conflict of the passion. But what seems to be prayer against enemies is not a wish of malevolence, but a declaration of punishment. He does not desire the things he says, but foretells what threatens them. He says therefore for himself and his members thus:

Unto thee will I cry, O Lord, my God, be not thou silent to me; lest at any time thou be silent to me, and I become like them that go down into the pit. Rightly he calls him Lord, to whom all creation is subject, as it is written, All things serve thee. Who, though he be the God of all by creation, is properly the Son of God by nature, or specially of the Church by grace; to cry unto whom is to pray with the whole desire, with the whole affection. Be not silent, he says, to me—as regards outward instruction. And be not at any time silent to me—as regards inward inspiration. For it behooves that the merciful God, as he once spoke for the salvation of mankind in the Prophets, but in these last days in his Son, so also now not be silent, but through his vicars, informed by word and grace, speak to us unceasingly, instruct us, breathe upon us.

And if, he says, thou be silent, I shall be like them that go down into the pit. If Christ had been silent, he would have appeared like the rest of mortals. But because God spoke in him, therefore Peter said to him, Thou hast the words of eternal life, and, Thou art Christ, the Son of the living God. For faith comes by hearing, and hearing by the word of Christ. Again, if he be silent from the teachers of the Church, his silence is our perishing. Otherwise, by what he says, I will cry, he notes that he cries unceasingly to the Lord throughout the whole time of his obedience. By what he adds, Be not silent, he notes the pious affection between God and man, because from the moment man begins to cry, God hears.

The Hebrew truth does not have this, "lest thou be silent to me at any time"; but the Seventy Interpreters added it, not, however, without reason, but by this they give us to understand that he cried out concerning his first and second glorification. The first glorification is before the resurrection, when he was free from all sin, and through him God worked miracles that no one else could work. The second glorification was in the resurrection, in which his humanity took on impassibility and immortality. And if thou be silent, far removed from me, then I shall be like, that is, similar to them that go down into the pit, that is, into the misery of this world. For if the Lord's manhood were forsaken by the protection of the divine Word united to itself, it would indeed be found like other men. Well does he say, "them that go down," because the greatest descent is to stray from God and to incline oneself toward the miseries of this world.

But the ascent is, having left these miseries, to hasten toward everlasting goods. Therefore he adds: -scending: because the greatest descent is to depart from God and to incline oneself to the miseries of this world. But the ascent, rather, is, these miseries left behind, to hasten toward everlasting goods. Therefore he adds:

Hear, O Lord, the voice of my supplication, when I pray to thee; when I lift up my hands to thy holy temple. He sets forth two things for which he ought worthily to be heard, saying, when—that is, because—I pray to thee. And because I lift up my hands on the cross, toward the temple, that is, toward the Church that is to be built, that it may be a holy temple of God. Great was the merit of being heard: the incarnation and passion of the Redeemer, who was made (as the Apostle says) a propitiation for our sins in his blood, that he might wash us from our sins, and fit for himself a Church not having spot or wrinkle. Look also to your own head; by his example learn to pray, learn to endure, learn to love. Stretch out your hands toward the temple. Stretch yourself toward good work for the sake of the kingdom of God. Hear and pray what follows:

Draw me not away together with the wicked, and destroy me not with the workers of iniquity. Christ indeed was with sinners, because the Word was made flesh and dwelt among us, and was reckoned among the wicked. But yet he was not delivered up together with sinners so as himself to be a sinner, because he did no sin, neither was guile found in his mouth. He went down into hell, where the wicked go down. But he did not perish with the workers of iniquity, because although he was slain by the wicked, yet he rose again from death, and by dying redeemed us. And so that death was not destruction, but life. Pray you also that you not be delivered up together with sinners, lest you be corrupted by the evil ways of those with whom you dwell, and that you not perish with the workers of iniquity, that is, lest you perish forever with the wicked, whose persecution you endure for a time. And they are wicked not only in deed, but also in tongue.

For it is added, Who speak peace with their neighbor. Who said, We know that thou art come a teacher from God. But evil things are in their hearts. For they were plotting how to seize Jesus by guile and kill him. Christ is called the neighbor of the Jews, both according to the flesh, because he was of their stock, and according to this, that he had come to show them mercy. According to what is read in the Gospel of the Samaritan, that he is called neighbor to him who fell among robbers, because he showed him mercy. How many such are found in the Church of God, who still persecute the body of Christ! These are they who come in sheep's clothing, but within are ravening wolves. And because they are such:

Give to them according to their works. And according to the measure of the fault, let the retribution of punishment be. But someone will say, Their works were good, even when they killed Christ: because thus the human race was redeemed. Therefore there follows: And according to the wickedness of their inventions. As if he were saying, I do not say that recompense should be given to them according to the benefit which resulted from their works, but according to the wickedness, which they thought they had devised for their own advantage. For they did not kill Christ in order that the human race might be redeemed: but lest they should lose their place and nation. In which matter it must be noted, that the same action, according to different intentions, is called both good and evil. For the Jews delivered up His Son, whom God the Father delivered up. The action from both sides was one; but the intention was different. For the Father delivered Him up to this end, that by rising again He might save us.

The Jews delivered Him up to this end, and took care that He should be condemned to a most shameful death, that He might utterly perish. Therefore justice or injustice is not in the action, but in the will. There follows therefore: According to the works of their hands render to them: return their recompense to them. What did He wish to designate by the works of their hands, but the surpassing iniquity which they wrought in the death of the Lord? When He adds "of the hands" after "works," He shows that they applied great zeal and affection to that work. That He says "of the hands" is drawn from the craftsman: because he wishes those works to be called the works of one's hands, which one has made with diligence. He rightly says, however, "recompense": because when Christ had done good things to them, they repaid Him evil in return. As if He said openly: Just as they repaid me evil, render evil to them likewise. And deservedly:

Because they have not understood the works of the Lord. Namely those which are mystically written in the Law, or those which afterward He worked secretly through His Son: as is the fact that He caused Him to be incarnate of the Virgin, that He sent Him for our redemption. And in the work of his hands. That is, in manifest works, understand, they have not understood. The Hebrews have, They have not looked into the works of his hands. What are these? That He healed the sick, cleansed lepers, raised the dead, and the many other miracles, which the Father did through His Son. Hence the Truth said to the Jews, If you do not believe me, believe at least the works. For the works which I do bear witness of me. They would be found excusable in hidden things, but they are not found excusable in open things.

Because therefore in the manifest work they did not understand, so as thereby to perceive my divine nature; therefore there follows: You will destroy them, spiritually and bodily: as it was in the destruction by Titus and Vespasian. And the Prophet, foreseeing that that destruction would be irreparable, added: And you will not build them up, any further. For in other destructions God had restored them, as in the destructions of Babylon, and in the captivity of Egypt. Or even if they had been destroyed spiritually, as if under some leader they were idolaters, through another leader God freed them from idolatry. But concerning this last spiritual blindness, they will not be restored until the end: when their remnant will be saved: but bodily they will never be restored. From this verse he begins to give thanks for his being heard. For he says,

Blessed be the Lord, for he has heard the voice of my supplication. As often as we are heard by the Lord, we ought to bless Him. For man has nothing to give to God for such great benefits, except blessing and praise. But no one is made blessed by the gifts of God, if he is ungrateful to the giver. Thus, however, is the Father of lights worshipped by us, from whom every best gift and every perfect gift descends: namely by the sacrifice of praise and the giving of thanks.

Not only did He hear as to the removal of evils, but also, The Lord is my helper, for doing good: And my protector, lest I be wounded by the darts of persecutors. And my heart has hoped in him; that is, my intention: and it hoped concerning the resurrection. And therefore, I have been helped. To this end almighty God helps us in good, and protects us in evil, that we may place our hope in Him. But the more confidently we hope in Him, the more abundantly we are helped by Him. Whence it comes about that through God's help hope is generated in us, and then through the merit of hope God's help is increased. And he shows in what he has been helped by God. And my flesh has flourished again. Before, Christ's flesh had flourished, when it was immune from all sin; it flourished again when, in rising, it took on impassibility and immortality. Therefore there follows: And of my own will I will confess to him.

God loves voluntary confession: but He does not accept forced services. Whence it is written, The servant does not abide in the house forever, the son abides forever. The servant is he who serves out of fear, the son is he who obeys out of love. The former is excluded from the heavenly house, because he is a servant. The latter is brought in, because he is a son. Let us then confess to the Lord with the whole will, with the whole affection: that as devoted sons we may obtain the inheritance of God. For to Him rightly is confession owed, of whom it is added,

The Lord is the strength of his people. That is, of the people devoted to Him. God's strength is in this, that He snatches men from the devil's yoke, and makes them His own. And he is the protector of the salvations of his Christ. That is, of those who have been saved through Christ. And here he plainly notes that the mysteries of Christ profit men unto salvation. And because the Lord is the strength of the people, therefore, Lord, do what is Yours.

Save your people, Lord. By snatching them from the power of enemies, by directing them to the faith. And bless, by giving increase of virtues to the deed itself: Your inheritance: and rule them, According to morals and virtues: And lift them up, From virtue to virtue, even to eternity. That is, until they arrive at eternity.

A psalm of David at the completion of the tabernacle. The ark of the Lord having been sent back by the Philistines, and brought back to Jerusalem, when he was forbidden by the prophet Nathan to build the house of the Lord, because it was one of bloodshed, he made a tabernacle of tent-hangings, in which to place the ark of God. When this was completed, he invited many to come to that temple (1 Chron. 17): not with empty hands, but that they might there sacrifice the victims brought. And after this completion he wrote this psalm: not that he wrote of the historical completion, but that he might prophesy to us by the Holy Spirit the future completion of the Church: of which that tabernacle was a figure. Which, Ezra the prophet knowing that David had understood, thus entitled it. Which title reads thus. This psalm belongs to David the prophet, who speaks here. I call it a psalm, held at the completion of the tabernacle, that is, at the consideration of the completion of the Church.

We rightly call this a tabernacle, because here in it we are as it were soldiering in a tent. This is the very matter of this psalm. It is the business of the prophet, under the person of the Church, to show how the tabernacle of God is composed, that is, by what power, and by what magnificence, through the sevenfold grace of the Holy Spirit, which is conceived from the voice of the Lord, repeated seven times. And in doing this he intends that those who have been made sons of God through adoption may offer to God a hostage of a pure mind. He says therefore:

Bring to the Lord, O sons of God, bring to the Lord the sons of rams. Bring to the Lord yourselves, whom, through the Gospel, the Apostles, leaders of flocks, have begotten, having, as it were, two horns, the two Testaments. Hence Paul, a spiritual ram, says to his flock, For in Christ Jesus I have begotten you through the Gospel. And again: My little children, whom I again bring forth in labor. We bring ourselves to God, if we devoutly do what we hear through wisdom. Give (he says), my son, your heart to me. But it is necessary that this offering of the heart also show itself in the completion of the deed. Whence it is also added: Bring to the Lord glory and honor. Show yourselves such, that God may be honored and glorified in you. According to what is written: Let your light shine before men, that seeing your good works, they may glorify your Father, who is in heaven. Bring to the Lord the glory of his name.

Let it become known gloriously throughout the world. Worship the Lord in his holy court. That is, in your enlarged and sanctified heart. For we owe ourselves to Him, by whom we were made. To whom honor and glory are rightly rendered by us for so many and such great benefits, which are set down for the building up of the spiritual tabernacle, that is, the Church. For it is said:

The voice of the Lord upon the waters. The voice of the Lord upon the peoples, who are rightly designated by waters, since like waters they run down ceaselessly in the flow of mortality. The God of majesty has thundered. God, out of the cloud of flesh, has terribly preached repentance. He Himself, through Himself, has thundered, He who is the God of majesty, of power, and of exalted virtue. Hence it is that in the Song of Songs the Church says, My soul melted, as my beloved spoke. The voice of the Lord thundered also upon the waters: because at the Jordan, over Christ, the voice of the Father was heard: This is my beloved Son. It thunders now also over the waters of baptism: because believers are baptized in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit. And because He Himself is the one who baptizes, it is rightly subjoined: The Lord is upon many waters. For it is written, One Lord, one faith, one baptism.

Or, The Lord is upon many waters, that is, the Lord Jesus Himself, after He sent forth His voice over the peoples, and terrified them, turned them to Himself, and dwelt in them.

The voice of the Lord in power. As is that saying, Lazarus, come forth. The voice of the Lord in magnificence. For Jesus did not speak as the Pharisees did, but as one having power. Whence a certain man said, Never has man spoken as this man speaks. So great was the power of this voice of the Lord, that it both raised the dead, gave light to the blind, and cleansed lepers. Or the voice of the Lord was in power and magnificence, when He first instructed the Apostles by the power of faith, and afterward did great things through them. Whence it is added below:

The voice of the Lord breaking the cedars, and the Lord will break the cedars of Lebanon. What is designated by cedars, unless those lofty in pride? And rightly, after "cedars," he added "of Lebanon." For Lebanon is interpreted "whitening." But the voice of the Lord breaks the cedars of Lebanon: because by it also those are crushed who are exalted in honors and riches, and in the splendor of earthly nobility. Whence the Apostle says: God has chosen the weak things of the world, to confound the strong. But it must be known, that in two ways the voice of the Lord breaks the cedars: some, namely, by condemning; some, by drawing them to Himself and thoroughly humbling them: concerning whom it is added,

And he will break them small like a calf of Lebanon. And with their proud loftiness cut away, He will bring them down to the imitation of His own humility, He who, like a calf, through the very nobility of this world, was led to sacrifice. For the kings of the earth stood up, and the princes gathered together against the Lord and against his Christ: And the beloved, like the son of unicorns. For He, too, the beloved and only Son of the Father, emptied Himself of His nobility, and was made man, like a son of the Jews, who were ignorant of the justice of God, and proudly boasting of their own justice as if it were singular.

The voice of the Lord cutting off the flame of fire. That is, dividing the raging anger of His persecutors, so that some might say: Is he perhaps the Christ? Others, No, but he leads the people astray; and thus, going before, He cut through their insane tumult, so that some He carried across, and others He left in their malice.

The voice of the Lord shaking the desert. That is, moving the gentile people to faith, who once were without hope, without God, without a prophet, without a preacher. And the Lord will shake the desert of Cades. That is, the Lord will truly cause the holy word of His scriptures to be celebrated, which was being abandoned by the Jews who did not understand it.

The voice of the Lord preparing the stags, and he will lay bare the thickets. The stags signify the Apostles, who, being prepared by the Holy Spirit for running and for proclaiming the Gospel, were swift, and who did not fear the deadly poisons of the devil and of the heretics. For these he laid bare the thickets, because he opened the scriptures, and manifested the divine mysteries. Hence Paul says, I heard secret words, which it is not lawful for a man to utter. And it is written, He opened to them the understanding, that they might understand the Scriptures. Then he unveiled to them the shadowy places of the divine books and the shady coverts of the mysteries, where they might feed with freedom. And because through these gifts God perfects his Church, rightly it is added: And in his temple all shall speak of his glory. That is, having themselves been made the temple of God, they shall speak the glory of the Lord, from whom they received the good things which they have.

The Lord makes the flood to dwell. Because he causes his elect, guarded in the Church as it were in an ark, to overcome and to despise this world. Which world is rightly signified by the flood: because it extinguishes carnal men within itself, and repels spiritual men above itself. And because the Lord will always reign in his Church after the flood, it is well added: And the Lord shall sit as king for ever. For the saints are the seat of God, and he himself is their king, defending them from the power of the devil, and ruling them spiritually so that sin may not reign in their mortal body. Concerning whom it is further added:

The Lord will give strength to his people. Lest they be overcome by enemies and vices. The Lord will bless his people in peace. That after the storms and whirlwinds of this age, they may rest happily in eternity.

A psalm of a canticle for the dedication of the house of David. This psalm is of a Canticle, that is, of the exultation had in the dedication, that is, in the consideration of the dedication of the house of David. The dedication of the house of David is understood as the resurrection of the Saviour: in which all the bodies of our life are dedicated. The house of David is built when the humanity is assumed. The house of David is built when it is raised up from the dead. The house of Christ is his humanity. For just as a house becomes celebrated at its dedication, so Christ was made more celebrated in the resurrection, having assumed impassibility and immortality. In the first part of the psalm there is a giving of thanks for deliverance: in which he also exhorts the saints to render thanks to God for it, which deliverance is theirs, because through it they have been delivered.

In the second part, which begins, But I said in my abundance, is shown the merit, why it was fitting that he should be delivered. In the third part, which begins, The Lord has heard, he shows how the dedication itself comes about toward the end he manifestly sets forth the resurrection. The subject matter is Christ. The intention is to exhort men to the praise of God for their deliverance, which is his: which we note where it is said, Sing to the Lord, you his saints. He says therefore:

I will extol thee, O Lord, for thou hast lifted me up. I will spread thy name through many nations, because thou hast united my humanity to thy Word. Nor hast thou delighted, that is, nor hast thou made my enemies rejoice over me. Because although they thought themselves to be triumphant over me in the passion, yet that joy has been turned into sorrow. This is said now in the person of the foundation, but afterward it will be said in the person of the whole house. Already the dedication of the house has been made in the head, as it were the dedication of the foundation. The house, that is, the Church, is still being built: afterward it shall be dedicated. Then the glory of the Christian people shall appear, which now lies hidden. Let the enemies rage now. Let them exult in the building of the house: they shall be confounded at its dedication. For then the just shall stand with great steadfastness against those who afflicted them.

And the penitent, groaning in anguish of spirit, shall say among themselves, What has pride profited us? And what has the boasting of riches brought us? All those things have passed away like a shadow. And what do they say of the just? How are they numbered among the sons of God, and their lot is among the saints? Then shall be fulfilled what is now said, Nor hast thou delighted my enemies over me.

O Lord my God, I have cried to thee. He cried, when he said, Father, glorify thy Son. And thou hast healed me. For he was infirm as to the part of his flesh. The Father, therefore, healed him, because by raising him he made that very flesh immortal and incorruptible. Hear the Apostle. See true health. Death (he says) is swallowed up in victory. O death, where is thy sting? O death, where is thy contention? He adds another cause for which he ought to extol the Lord.

O Lord, he says, thou hast brought forth my soul from hell. For he despoiled hell, and led the souls of the Saints with him into heaven. Thou hast saved me from them that go down into the pit, that is, thou hast freed me from the hands of the Jews, who of their own accord go down into hell and death and the jaws of the devil. And because his deliverance pertains to the common salvation, therefore he admonishes us, saying:

Sing to the Lord, O you his saints, and give praise to the memory of his holiness. As if he said, You, made his saints through my deliverance, sing to the Lord: bless him by working, and confess to the memory of him with mouth and heart. For you had forgotten him, but he has not forgotten you. But that he remained mindful of you proceeded not from your holiness but from his. And from this also, sing and confess.

For wrath is in his indignation, and life in his will. He avenged upon you the first sin, which you dissolved by death, and gave eternal life, to which you could return by no strength of your own, because he willed it. When you hear, For wrath is in his indignation, you have in God what you should fear. For God is indignant with man, and inflicts wrath for sin. Again, when you hear, And life is in his will, you have in God what you should hope for and love. There justice is commended, here grace. And to wrath and life pertains what he adds: In the evening weeping shall have place, and in the morning gladness. Evening comes when the sun sets. Evening began, where the light of wisdom withdrew from man sinning, when he was condemned to death. For the sun of justice had set for him, he no longer rejoiced in the presence of God. From thence began all this mortal life.

From that very evening weeping will have its delays, as long as the people of God, amid labors and temptations, await the day of the Lord. Then shall come the morning, in which shall be the exultation of the resurrection. Then light shall arise for the faithful, which had set for sinners. Therefore also the Lord Jesus rose from the sepulchre in the morning, that what he dedicated in the foundation, he might promise to the house. In our Lord there was evening, because he was buried: and morning, because he rose on the third day. You too were buried in the evening in paradise, and you shall rise on the third day. How, on the third day? If you consider the age of the world, the first day is before the Law; the second under the Law; the third under Grace. What that triduum showed in your head, this triduum of the age is shown in you. One must hope and rejoice, but for now one must endure and groan.

But he shows himself contrary to Adam, when he adds:

But I said in my abundance, I shall not be moved for ever. He, placed in the paradise of delight, abounding in all good things, was moved by the persuasion of the serpent. But Christ, in the abundance of virtues, said, that is, resolved, that he should not be moved for ever, but should be obedient to the Father even unto death. Nor does he attribute this to his own strength, whence he also adds:

O Lord, in thy will thou hast given strength to my beauty. That I am beautiful in justice, strong in patience, I have this not from my own power, but from thy will. Thou hast turned away thy face from me, and I became troubled. For the Father seemed to have turned his face away from the Son, when he forsook him in the passion. Whence also the Jews said, If he be the Son of God, let him deliver him, if he will. And he was made troubled, when he said, My soul is sorrowful even unto death. Here is shown the great merit of Christ, who, even so tested, did not depart from obedience. Thou dost turn thy face away from me: but I am not turned away from thee. For it follows:

To thee, O Lord, will I cry, and I will make supplication to my Lord. I will cry for the obtaining of good things, I will supplicate for the removal of evils. For thou art my Lord, who rulest me, and my God, who hast created me. Here is shown to us, in our head, what we ought to do. If the Lord turns away his face from us, and is indignant on account of our sins, we ought at once to be troubled through penitence. And to cry to his merciful ears until we obtain pardon. But what Christ cried, he shows, when he adds:

What profit is there in my blood, while I go down to corruption? What shall it profit me, or others, my blood poured out, if I go down to corruption? If my body rot in the tomb? If I do not rise on the third day? Shall dust confess to thee, or declare thy truth? Shall flesh reduced to dust confess to thee, that is, shall it be the cause of thy confession and praise? Or shall it declare thy truth, that is, shall it be the cause why thy truth may be proclaimed concerning the restoration of the human race, which thou art about to accomplish through me? That he was heard from this cry he intimates, when he immediately adds:

The Lord has heard, and has had mercy on me: the Lord has become my helper. He had mercy on me, that I should not be corrupted; he helped, that I might also rise again. Mercy pertains to the remission of sins. Help pertains to the progress of good works and virtues. First he has mercy on us without preceding merits, that, freed from sin, we may will the good. Then he helps us, that we may fulfill the good which we will. That we correct our sins is the mercy of God. That we rise again to virtues is the help of God. In what he was helped, he shows, turning with familiarity to the Father, and saying:

Thou hast turned my mourning into joy for me. Thou hast changed the mourning of the passion into the joy of resurrection: for me, that is, for my benefit and that of my own. Thou hast cut off my sackcloth, and hast girded me with gladness. Sackcloth is made of goats and of kids. And both goats and kids are numbered among sinners. The Lord, from among our number, took only the sackcloth, he did not assume the merit of the sackcloth, which is sin. But the sackcloth is mortality. He cut off the sackcloth, because he destroyed mortality, and moreover girded himself about with gladness: because the Lord clothed him with the robe of immortality. And he was girded about with gladness for this purpose, that he might do what is added next:

That my glory may sing to thee. That is, my resurrection, and my blessedness: And I may not be pierced, that is, I may not die. For Christ, rising from the dead, dies no more. Death shall no longer have dominion over him. What has been done in the head shall be in the future in the body. Our glory shall sing to God, when we shall be like him, and shall see him as he is. For that shall come to pass which is added: O Lord my God, I will give praise to thee for ever. This is my glory, that I confess to thee for ever, because nothing is from myself, but all things are from thee, who art God, all in all. Confess, therefore, now, what you have done against the Lord, that is, your sins: and you shall confess what God has done for you, in forgiving your sins: so that, confessing to him for ever, you may not be pierced by sin.

The title of the following psalm is this: Unto the end, a psalm of David himself, Ecstasy. The psalm is ascribed to David himself as mediator, of strong hand in persecutions, who speaks here not only for himself but also for his martyrs, directing unto the end. Ecstasy, which is added in the title, signifies a going-out of the mind; which happens either through fear, or through some revelation. But in this psalm fear especially appears, of the people of God disturbed by the persecution of all nations, and by the failing of faith throughout the world. But first the mediator himself speaks. Then the people, redeemed by his blood, gives thanks: at the last, disturbed for a long time, it speaks that which pertains to ecstasy. But the person of the Prophet himself is inserted twice: Near the end, and unto the end. The subject matter has two opposites: the help of divine mercy, and the misery of human frailty.

He intends to admonish men, that they should neither despair, attending to their own miseries, nor foolishly grow proud, presuming upon God's mercy: and thus he clearly directs us unto the end, that is, unto Christ. He says therefore:

In thee, O Lord, have I hoped, let me not be confounded forever. You see that he fears, but this fear is not without hope. If there is some disturbance in the human heart, divine consolation does not withdraw. He does not deny that he suffers the insult of enemies; nay rather, if this confusion does not last forever. That confusion is to be dreaded which is eternal. For there is a certain confusion that is temporal, useful: a disturbance of the soul looking back upon its sins, shuddering at the sight, correcting itself by blushing with shame. Whence the Apostle also says, "What fruit therefore had you then in those things, of which you are now ashamed?" This confusion the Christian does not fear; nay rather, if he does not have this one, he will have the eternal one. What is that one? "Depart, ye cursed, into everlasting fire". And therefore he continues and adds: In thy justice deliver me. For if thou lookest to my justice, thou condemnest me.

But the justice of God becomes ours also, when it is granted to us; and it is therefore called the justice of God, lest man think he has justice from himself, and thus glory vainly in himself. And because my voice could not ascend to thee,

Incline thy ear to me, make haste to deliver me. God did this, when he sent Christ himself to us. The inclination of the ear is the assumption of humanity. God inclines his ear to us, laying down his mercy upon us. What greater mercy is there, than that he gave his only Son to us, not to live with us, but to die for us? But that his mercy, once inclined, might quickly rise again, he asks, when he adds: Make haste to deliver me. As if he were to say, Quickly, make me rise again. For if he had delayed until the common resurrection, the whole hope of believers would have collapsed. Or "Make haste" is set down for this purpose, that we may understand this whole thing, which to us seems long, as long as the age revolves, to be but a point. For that which has an end is not long. Times fly past, and what is slow to thee is short in the eyes of God.

Be thou unto me a God, a protector, lest I be wounded by the darts of enemies. And a house of refuge, to save me. That is, a house of security, in which I may rest, my labors finished, and remain saved forever. If you wish to escape the darts of temptations, the heats of vices, the fury of persecutors: call upon the Lord as protector. If he himself protects you, there is none to strike you. If you wish to be safe and secure, make him your refuge. For no refuge can be so safe for you as your God: concerning whom it is added,

For thou art my strength and my refuge. Strength, by which I may be able to resist those who fight against me. Refuge, in which I may safely remain. Strength in war, refuge after triumph. Strength, by which we conquer; refuge, in which I may rest. And for thy name's sake, to be spread abroad and glorified, thou wilt lead me, lest I stray; and thou wilt nourish me, lest I fail on the way. Or Christ is led forth, when he is announced everywhere through the Apostles. He is nourished, moreover, when the little ones are refreshed with the milk of faith and the joy of miracles. Lord our God, thou art a leader to us, by whom we set forth spiritually; and true food, by which we are nourished spiritually. He leads us by precepts, he nourishes us by sacraments. Of whom it is further added:

Thou wilt bring me out of this snare, which they have hidden for me. By the snare he wishes deception to be understood, which the Jews hid for Christ. Hence it is that they said to him, "Master, we know that thou art true, and teachest the way of God in truth. Tell us therefore, is it lawful to give tribute to Caesar, or not?" Behold the snare which they hid! If he had said, "It is lawful," he would have fallen into the snare. For they would have objected, "You act against the law, which says, 'Thou shalt adore the Lord thy God, and him alone shalt thou serve'". If he had said, "It is not lawful," he would have fallen into another snare. For the Herodians would have said, "You act against the king; you are guilty of death".

Or: thou wilt bring me out of the snare, that is, out of death, which is therefore called a snare: because through death they thought to impede his name; which they hid, that is, secretly prepared, for me, from whom no secret is hidden. Likewise God delivers his own from the snares of the devil, that is, from temptations. Therefore I know that thou wilt bring me out. For thou art my protector. And he who has such a protector cannot be ensnared. And therefore it follows:

Into thy hands I commend my spirit. This was fulfilled, when, placed upon the cross, he said, "Father, into thy hands I commend my spirit". Behold how Prophecy and the Gospel agree in the same words. Understand therefore that the same Christ, who speaks in the Gospel, also spoke in the psalm. Who immediately adds, saying: Thou hast redeemed me, O Lord God of truth. The soul of Christ and of others was redeemed through his perfect obedience. And well does he say, Lord God of truth; for he did not fail in his promise, but faithfully fulfilled what he promised. And therefore, because thou art the God of truth,

Thou hast hated them that regard vanities to no purpose. Those to no purpose regard vanities, who so cling to earthly things that they forget heavenly ones. Such God hates, who hope for the false happiness of this present age. But I, not as they, who hope in vain, and who observe vanity, but in the Lord have I hoped, who is not vanity. Therefore I will exult in body, and rejoice in spirit in thy mercy, which granted me to hope in thee. And rightly shall I exult:

For thou hast regarded my humility. That is, thou hast had mercy on my frailty and my affliction, lest I be overcome by those persecuting me. And by regarding my humility, Thou hast saved my soul out of necessities. That is, from bodily miseries, which the soul suffers in this life on account of sin. Unless you first humbled yourself, he who would free you from necessities would not hear you. He was humbled, who said, "Unhappy man that I am, who shall deliver me from the body of this death?" But hear the continual salvation: "The grace of God," he says, "through Jesus Christ". Whence it follows:

And thou hast not shut me up in the hands of the enemy. For he was detained neither by those who guarded the sepulchre, nor by evil spirits in hell: but rather, Thou hast set my feet in a spacious place. Because not only in Judea, but throughout all the kingdoms of the world the Apostles preached; to whom it had first been commanded to preach in Judea alone. Or: thou hast set my feet, that is, thou hast firmly set my afflictions in the spacious place of charity. Here he begins to enumerate the miseries of human frailty, saying,

Have mercy on me, O Lord, for I am afflicted. And he describes the affliction itself, when he adds, My eye is troubled with wrath, my soul, and my belly. That is, my understanding, my will, my memory. Though he was certain of God's promise, who had said, "I will glorify": we do not thus say that the understanding, or will, or memory of the God Christ was troubled, so that it failed in any way: but he willed to be disturbed spontaneously, to leave an example to others, lest, if they should be disturbed, they should therefore despair.

For my life is wasted with grief. After the experienced wrath of God, by which it was said to the first man, "Thou shalt die the death", this mortal life has had many failings of grief. And because his life might seem to have been spent in grief for one day, or two days, which would not seem great: therefore he added, And my years in groans. For the whole span of the present life is a holy labor and a groan. Whence it is also added, My strength is weakened through poverty. That is, in the consideration of my poverty: because I have nothing of myself. And my bones, that is, my firmness, or the strength of my body, Are troubled. When Christ says that he is weak, both in body and in soul, he shows that all pride is far removed from him, and that no one ought to presume upon himself. He sets forth likewise other miseries, saying:

Above all my enemies I am become a reproach exceedingly to my neighbours, and a fear to my acquaintance. What is meant by "acquaintance" but the Apostles? What is meant by "neighbours exceedingly," but those who were already drawing near to his faith? For them he becomes a cause of reproach and fear, when he is hung upon the cross by the Jews. Rightly he says that he was made a reproach above all his enemies, because he who was slain without guilt appeared more despised than even the wicked themselves, who were condemned for their own crimes: whence also he adds: They that saw me fled from me. For the Apostles saw the Jews seize Christ, and, leaving him, all fled.

I am forgotten as one dead from the heart. They have forgotten me, as though I were dead in their heart. I am become as a vessel that is destroyed: for I have heard the blame of many that dwell round about. A destroyed and broken vessel is fit for no use. Robbers were like destroyed vessels, when, being useless, they were handed over to destruction. So Christ too was made as a destroyed vessel, because he was reckoned even among the wicked. But how great blames he heard from those standing around, they themselves who read of his passion know. Whilst they gathered together against me, they consulted to take away my soul. While the wicked Jews (he says) gathered together against me, in that assembly they took counsel of nothing else, but to destroy my soul. What do these words teach us, but contempt of the world and of death, but humility and patience, and that we should place our hope in God? Whence it is also added,

But I have hoped in thee, O Lord; I said, Thou art my God, my lots are in thy hands. The hope that is in God is right. In whatever else a man hopes, his hope will be frustrated. But he who hopes in God, just as God is unchangeable, so his hope cannot be changed. I said to the Lord, I proposed, I vowed, I fixed in my mind, Thou art my God. For thou dost not fail. Thou dost not deceive. And therefore I have hoped in thee, whom I have chosen as my God. In thy hands, that is, in thy power, are my lots. A lot is not something evil, but a thing which, amid human uncertainty, indicates the divine will. For the Apostles also cast lots. God was consulted concerning two disciples, as to which of them he wished to be an Apostle. And the lot fell upon Matthias. By the name "lot" in this place the grace of God is designated: because in a lot there is no election, but the will of God.

For where it is said, This one does, that one does not, merits are considered. And where merits are considered, it is election, and not lot. But when God finds no merits of ours, he has made us saved by the lot of his own will, because he willed it, not because we were worthy. This is the lot. By grace you have been saved through faith (says the Apostle), and this not of yourselves. Hence it is that Peter says to Simon, Because thou hast thought to purchase the gift of God with money, thou hast neither part nor lot in this faith, that is, thou dost not belong to that grace which we all have received freely. He rightly says not "lot" but "lots": because there are many divisions of graces, which the Lord distributes to believers. My lots are in thy hands. As if he were saying openly: All my elect are in thy power. And therefore:

Deliver me out of the hand of my enemies, and from them that persecute me. That is, from the power of those who hate me, and of those who inflict evils upon me. Let each one say this concerning his own enemies. For it is good, and we ought to pray, that God may deliver us from the hands of our enemies, visible and invisible. 17. Groaning among these, he says: Make thy face to shine upon thy servant. For a certain confusion is thought to arise, since all are called Christians alike: both those who live evilly and those who live well. All are marked with one character. All approach one altar. They are washed in the same baptism: they utter the same Lord's Prayer: they take part in the celebration of the same mysteries. When will they be distinguished? When will the Lord make his face to shine upon his servants? At the judgment. Then the good will be separated from the evil.

Whence it is written, Let the wicked be taken away, that he see not the glory of God. And therefore he adds: Save me in thy mercy: not in my justice.

O Lord, let me not be confounded, for I have called upon thee. Whoever now calls upon the Lord, that is, invokes him within himself, with a pure heart, with a whole heart, praying devoutly, living rightly, agreeing in voice, heart, and works: shall not be confounded at the judgment. But they shall be confounded, of whom it is added: Let the wicked be ashamed, and let them be brought down to hell. Namely the Jews who crucified their Lord: or the gentiles who worshipped idols: or false Christians, who neglected to worship the Lord. Then indeed they shall be ashamed, when they shall hear from the Lord, Amen I say to you, I know you not. And again, Depart, ye cursed, into everlasting fire. Then shall come to pass what follows:

Let deceitful lips be made dumb, which speak iniquity against the just, in pride and contempt. For the Jews spoke proudly and contemptuously, that is, contrary to the custom of servants, against the Lord, when they cried, He is guilty of death, and Crucify him (. Luke

Isai. Daily now the wicked cry out against the good, the proud against the humble. Daily they blaspheme, bark, slander, chatter with malicious and deceitful tongues: but then their lips shall be made dumb, when the glory of the saints shall appear, and they shall see torments hanging over them. The clamor of words shall be turned into mourning. For there shall be weeping and gnashing of teeth. Looking on the contrary at the happiness of the saints, admiring the sweetness of the heavenly kingdom, he praised it, saying:

How great is the multitude of thy sweetness, O Lord, which thou hast hidden for them that fear thee! It is admirable, it is delightful. It cannot be explained in words. For what eye has not seen, nor ear heard, nor has entered into the heart of man, thou, O God, hast prepared for them that love thee. But thou hast hidden it for them that fear thee. What is it, thou hast hidden it for them? Thou hast kept it, that they alone may attain to it. For as long as they still fear, they have not yet attained it themselves: but they believe they will attain it, and they begin from fear. For nothing is sweeter than the immortality of wisdom: but the fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom, which thou hast hidden for them that fear thee: but thou hast perfected it for them that hope in thee, in the sight of the sons of men.

That is, thou hast perfected thy sweetness for those who hope in thee in the sight of the sons of men. As the Lord says, Whoever shall deny me before men, I will also deny him before my Father. Therefore if thou hopest in the Lord, hope before men: lest perhaps thou hide thy very hope in thy heart, and fear to confess, when it is cast against thee as a crime, that thou art a Christian. If thou wilt walk in the way of God, hope in the Lord even in the sight of men, that is, do not be ashamed of thy hope. As it lives in thy heart, so let it dwell in thy mouth: because it was not without cause that Christ willed his sign to be fixed on our forehead, as it were in the seat of shame: lest the Christian be ashamed of the reproach of Christ.

If therefore thou do this in the sight of men, if thou be not ashamed thereof before men, if in the sight of the sons of men thou deny Christ neither in word nor in deed: hope that the sweetness of God will be perfected for thee. Now God begins to give this sweetness to the faithful in this life, but perfects it in the other. Of whom it is further added: Thou shalt hide them in the secret of thy face. That is, in the secret of divine contemplation. From the disturbance of men. So that none may now be able to disturb them. But again while they sojourn in this world, since they suffer many tongues contradicting them, what dost thou do for them? It follows, and says,

Thou shalt protect them in thy tabernacle. Namely in the present Church, in which we do battle, From the contradiction of tongues. Lest the tongues of heretics contradicting the truth should be able to incorporate them into themselves. Then for such great benefits he breaks forth to praise and bless God, saying,

Blessed be the Lord, for he hath shown his wonderful mercy to me in a fortified city. Hence the Lord is to be blessed and glorified, because he showed his wonderful mercy to me, that is, for the benefit of me and mine, in a fortified city, that is, in the saints, who are called a city: because many are joined together under one divine Law, and fortified because of many virtues, and the diverse gifts of the Holy Spirit, by which they are fortified. The Lord thus showed his wonders: but I had miseries. Whence he adds,

But I said in the excess of my mind, I am cast away from before thy eyes. Excess is spoken of, either when a man is caught up to the contemplation of divine things (as Paul says, whether we are beside ourselves in mind, it is unto God), or when someone, through grief, goes beyond himself, and does not remain within himself. Thus this man too saw himself trembling with some great tribulation, I know not what, such as are not lacking. Behold his heart, fearful and trembling: and he says, I am cast away from before thy eyes. If I were in thy sight, I would not fear thus. If thou wert attending to me, I would not tremble thus. And because I confessed, and because I was humble, because I accused my own heart; because trembling I cried out: Therefore thou didst hear the voice of my prayer. And he adds a certain merit of being heard, when he says, While I cried to thee. That is, because I cried.

The cry to the Lord is not with the voice, but with the heart. Many, silent in their lips, have cried out with the heart. Many, clamoring with the mouth, with the heart turned away, have obtained nothing. If therefore thou criest, cry within, where God hears. But now let us hear what he exhorts us to:

Love the Lord, all ye his saints. As if he were saying, Believe me. I have had experience, I have had tribulations: I called, and I was not deceived. I hoped in God, and I was not confounded. He enlightened my thoughts, he strengthened my trembling. Love the Lord, you who do not love the world, that is, all his saints. Because the Lord will require truth. Although he permits it now to be trodden underfoot, yet he himself will require it in his own time. From whom will he require it? From those who held it against falsehood. He will require it of them, that he may reward them. He will also require it from those who neglected it proudly. Of whom it is added: And he will repay abundantly, not sparingly, them that act proudly. Who are they that act proudly, but those who despise the truth of God? Lest therefore we be condemned with them, let us hear, and do what is further added:

Do manfully. Do not let your hands, wounded, fall in tribulations. And if there be weakness or weariness in the body, let there be in the heart, for bearing the evils of the world, the fortitude of patience. And this is what he adds: And let your heart be strengthened. But to whom does he say this? Is it to lovers of the world? No. But hear to whom. All ye that hope in the Lord. The words which you have heard in the psalm, brethren, write in your heart: transform them into yourselves: in these praise the Lord. And if the psalm prays, pray; and if it groans, groan; and if it rejoices, rejoice; and if it hopes, hope; and if it fears, fear. All things that are written here are our mirror.

Understanding of David. This scripture, put forth by David, produces understanding for those who read it. This, namely, that each one may understand that no one can be saved except through the remission of sins. The first understanding is that you know yourself to be a sinner. The following understanding is that when you have begun to work well through faith by love, you should not attribute this to your own strength, but to the grace of God. The subject matter is David the prophet, or whatever other faithful man, repenting with understanding: who, whereas he formerly did not know his sins, now recognizes them. He also sets forth that man's confession: then the commendation of that confession. Afterward he introduces Christ promising many good things to such a penitent. The intent of that penitent is to admonish us to the understanding of such a confession. And in the first part he shows that he recognizes his sins, when he says:

Blessed are they whose iniquities are forgiven, and whose sins are covered. Blessed is the man to whom the Lord has not imputed sin, and in whose spirit there is no guile. There are some penitents, whose iniquities have been forgiven through the laver of regeneration, and they are blessed. Again there are many who have sinned after baptism, but have returned to confession: and through penance and amendment their sins, which they committed, have been covered. And they likewise are blessed. There is another man, strong, and therefore one because he is rare, sustained by strength of soul, who has kept himself from every criminal sin, who, when guilt arose through carnal concupiscence, restrained it strongly by the rigor of the spirit, was not delighted, did not consent. This is the blessed man, to whom the Lord has not imputed sin. Hence by the same Psalmist it is said elsewhere, If they shall not have dominion over me, then shall I be spotless.

And the Apostle says, There is now no condemnation to them that are in Christ Jesus, who walk not according to the flesh. And while this holy man does not justify himself in this, but confesses himself a sinner, and accuses himself: there is no guile in his spirit.

Because this penitent did not do this, he intimates what loss he sustained, and adds:. Because I kept silence, my bones grew old, while I cried out all the day. It seems contrary, that he says, I kept silence while I cried out. But he kept silence about one thing, and cried out about another. He kept silence as to confession, he cried out in presumption. As long as we keep silent about our sin, the sin itself cries out to the Lord. Hence it is that Cain is told by the Lord, Behold the voice of your brother's blood cries to me from the earth. For because, when asked, he had denied it, the very shedding itself was a cry to the Lord. Because I kept silence (he says), my bones grew old. If he had cried out his sins, his bones would have been renewed, that is, all his strength would have been robust in the Lord; because he would have found himself weak in himself.

But now, because he wished to be strong in himself, he was made weak: and his bones grew old, he remained in oldness, who was unwilling by confessing to love newness. What is, While I cried out all the day? While they persevered in the defense of sin. And because he kept silence, he felt the avenging hand of the Lord, saying,

Because day and night, that is, continually, your hand was made heavy upon me. Upon him the Lord makes his hand heavy, whom he humbles for exalting himself. He who was unwilling to be humbled by confession of his humility was humbled by the weight of God's hand. And therefore he adds: I am turned in my trouble, that is, in the consideration of my misery, While the thorn is fixed in. While the conscience is pierced. Through the smiting hand of the Lord he felt the weight of the scourge upon himself, he felt within himself the compunction of sin. A sense of pain was given him, and thus he found his weakness, he who had kept confession silent. Whence he immediately says:

I made my sin known to you, and I did not hide my injustice. By sin can be understood the sin of thought. By injustice, the sin of deed. Or sin is when we abandon the commandment of God, but injustice is what we perpetrate in deed of the very things which the precepts of God forbid. This penitent had earlier kept silent about both this sin. Whence also he felt the avenging hand of the Lord: and thus, scourged and instructed, he came humbly to confession and amendment. And it was brought about by the pious dispensation of the Lord, that what had existed as the punishment of sin should itself be the occasion of virtue. Whence he also says: I said, I will confess against myself my injustice to the Lord: and you have forgiven the impiety of my sin. See how swift is God's mercy toward the sinner. He proposed that he would declare it, and already He forgave.

The voice had not yet come to the mouth, but the ear of God was already in the heart. But after he said, I will confess, not without reason he immediately added, against myself. For many declare their impiety, but against the Lord Himself: when they are found in sins, they say, God willed this. For if a man says, I did not do it: or, This deed which you charge is not a sin: he declares neither against himself, nor against the Lord. But if he says, I did it indeed, it is a sin, but God willed this, which I did, he declares against the Lord. Many say this. They say also another thing, Fate did this to me, Chance did this to me. And thus by a circuit they wish to come to accusing God. This penitent therefore takes away such occasions in sins, lest his heart decline to words of malice, and he confesses against himself his injustice to the Lord. What is against himself? Accusing and rebuking himself, and not another.

Such confession is followed by swift remission. Therefore he says, And you have forgiven the impiety of my sin. And it should be noted, that he does not say sin, but the impiety of sin. For when we do evil, or speak it, or think it, it is indeed sin. But when we wish to hide the same thing from God, it is now not only sin, but also the impiety of sin. From these words therefore he shows, that from this, that he resolved to confess his sin, God forgave him not only what he had done evilly, but also what he had impiously hidden. But although God forgives sins from the moment a man repents in will: nevertheless confession must be made to the ministers of the Church, because unless they confessed, they would be condemned by their own disobedience. This was shown in Lazarus, who after he was made alive, needed to be loosed.

For this, namely the impiety of sin, every saint shall pray to you. Hence he shall pray to you, because you have forgiven sins. For if you did not forgive sins, he would not be a saint, who would pray to you. But he shall pray In an acceptable time. Now is the acceptable time for praying, for confessing one's sins and correcting them. For now is the time of grace, the time of mercy, of which the Apostle says, Behold, now is the acceptable time, behold, now is the day of salvation; now they can draw near to God, who wish to, if they punish past evils, if they correct their ways, if they live soberly and justly. Afterward will be the time of judgment, the time of vengeance: at which those who now scorn to draw near will no longer draw near. This is what he adds. Yet in the flood of many waters, they shall not come near to him.

Rightly by the flood is designated the judgment of God: because just as before in the flood, so in the last judgment sinners shall be condemned. Let no one think, when the end shall come suddenly as in the days of Noah, that there will remain a place for confession, by which one might draw near to God. Now the Lord is not seen, and is near. Then, however, he will be seen, and will no longer be near. Many waves of floods will stir the hearts of the wicked, which they who now flee to the harbor of divine mercy will not feel. This is what this penitent did, who says:

You are my refuge from the tribulation which has surrounded me. Great is the tribulation which surrounds us on every side, as the Apostle testifies, who says, Without were fightings, within were fears. And in another psalm it is said, Many are the tribulations of the just. Finally this whole mortal life is a tribulation for the servants of God. But from this tribulation, by which he is surrounded in this world, man finds no refuge so safe as God Himself. Let others flee to their own strength, to their own fortifications, to defenses of their own sins. For me there is no refuge, except you, who are also My exultation. Because I rejoice in you. And therefore, Deliver me from those who surround me: enemies and vices. I hear a voice of joy, My exultation. I hear a groan, redeem me. Do you rejoice and groan? Yes, he says. I rejoice in hope, I groan still in reality. For we are saved by hope: behold whence joy. But hope that is seen is not hope.

But if we hope for what we do not see, we await it through patience. Behold the groan. Therefore he says, Deliver me. 8. A diapsalm. The response of God. I will give you understanding. That you may always know yourself, and always rejoice toward God in hope, until you arrive at that homeland: where there will no longer be hope, but the reality. And I will instruct you; With the arms of righteousness, with knowledge, good morals and virtues; And in this way, of the virtues, in which you will walk, I will fix my eyes upon you. Upon us in our way the Lord fixes his eyes, when he mercifully attends to our progress along the way of the virtues. And he keeps us persevering in the same journey. For it would not suffice to give understanding, and to form us by living well: unless he also made us continue in these things. After this understanding and his protection, he turns himself to the proud who defend their sins, and shows us what understanding is.

Do not become like the horse and the mule, which have no understanding. The horse signifies the proud, and the licentious. The mule, however, the lazy and the unfruitful. Such are the men of this age: they raise themselves up in elation, they serve carnal pleasures: they bear no fruit of the soul. And while they cling only to earthly things, living beastlike as a horse and a mule, they have no understanding of heavenly things. How such are to be treated follows: and he says, With bit and bridle constrain their jaws, who do not come near you. They ought to be restrained with the hard bonds of discipline, their boasting mouths repressed with frequent blows: because they live perversely and untamed, they speak unrestrainedly, and while they flee, they run into death. Of such it is no wonder, if, the bridle having been applied, scourges follow. Whence it is added:

Many are the scourges of the sinner. It wished to be an untamed animal: it is tamed by bit and scourge. And would that it might be fully tamed. For it is to be feared, lest by resisting God the tamer too much, it be left to deserve, and to go into its own wandering license: so that it may be said of him, His iniquity shall come forth as it were from fatness: as of those, whose sins now go unpunished. Therefore when he is scourged, let him be corrected, let him be tamed: because he too said himself to have been thus tamed. He had called himself a horse and a mule, because he kept silence. But whence was he tamed? By scourges, turned into trouble while pierced by the thorn.

Whether you call them scourges, or call them goads, God tames the beast of burden, that he may sit upon it: because it is expedient for the beast of burden, that it be sat upon, and tamed by the scourge: to the end that it may attain the mercy of God. Whence it is also added: But mercy shall surround him who hopes in the Lord. Whom tribulation first surrounds, mercy afterward surrounds: since he will give mercy, who justly willed us to be afflicted on account of our sins. Therefore admonishing, he adds:

Rejoice in the Lord, and exult, you just. Rejoice in heart: exult in body, not in yourselves, not in the world: not lovers of the world, not sinners, but the just. And glory, all you upright of heart. It is no great thing to glory in joys. The upright in heart glories even in tribulation. Behold the upright heart. Knowing, he says, that tribulation works patience, patience proof, proof hope. But hope does not confound, because the love of God is poured out in our hearts through the Holy Spirit, who has been given to us. Therefore if we are just, if we have an upright heart, let us rejoice in heart in the Lord: let us exult in body: let us glory in tribulation.

Rejoice, you just, in the Lord. The unjust rejoice in the world. When the world ends, the exultation of the unjust ends. As the Lord remains, the exultation of the just will remain. And I say well, let the just rejoice in the Lord: because, Praise is comely for the upright. But praise is not fitting in the mouth of a sinner. Who are the upright? Those who direct their heart according to the will of God, and if human frailty disturbs them, divine equity consoles them. They are just, who serve through faith and good work. They are upright, who are neither puffed up in prosperity, nor broken in adversity: and in these give thanks to the same Lord. Justice therefore is in faith and action, rectitude in the will. Those who are such are fit to praise God, and to exult in Him. The psalm admonishes such, when it adds:

Give praise to the Lord on the harp, sing to him on the psaltery of ten strings. The harp sounds from the lower part. The psaltery from the upper. We have life from this earth, as it were from the lower part: and there is earthly prosperity, and earthly adversity, and in both God is to be praised. What is earthly prosperity? When we are sound in body: when the fruits come forth abundantly: when all things by which we live are plentiful: whoever does not praise God for these is ungrateful. But adversities are in pains, in sicknesses, in pressures, in the loss of goods, in tribulations. Therefore give praise to the Lord on the harp, whether some earthly thing abound to you or be lacking: give thanks to him who gave, or who took away; for he who gave has not been taken from you, although what he gave has been taken from you. Touch, then, the strings in your heart, and say, as on the lower harp, The Lord gave, the Lord has taken away.

As it pleased the Lord, so it has been done. Blessed be the name of the Lord. Now indeed when you attend to the higher gifts of God: what he has bestowed on you of precepts, with what heavenly doctrine he has imbued you, what from above out of the fountain of his truth he has given you beyond others, turn to the psaltery and sing to God, on the psaltery of ten strings. For the precepts of the Law are ten. In the ten precepts of the Law you have the psaltery. It is a perfect thing: there you have the love of God in three, and the love of neighbor in seven. And surely you know, the Lord saying, that on these two commandments the whole Law and the Prophets depend. God says to you from above, that the Lord your God is one God. You have one string. Thou shalt not take the name of the Lord thy God in vain: you have another string.

Observe the day of the sabbath, not carnally, not with Jewish indulgences, who abuse leisure for wickedness. It would be better for them to dig all day than to dance all day. But think of the rest in your God who makes all things. He abstains from servile work. For everyone who commits sin is a slave: and would that of man, and not of sin. These three pertain to the love of God, of whom you should think the unity, the truth, the will. For there is a certain will in God, wherein is the true sabbath, the true rest. Whence it is said, Delight in the Lord, and he will give you the petitions of your heart. For who delights so much as he who does all things that delight? In these three is the charity of God; in the other seven is the charity of neighbor. Do not do to another what you do not wish to suffer (Tobit 4): honor your father and mother, because you wish to be honored by your children.

Thou shalt not commit adultery, because you do not wish your wife to commit adultery after you either. Thou shalt not kill, because you do not wish to be killed either. Thou shalt not steal, because you do not wish to suffer theft. Thou shalt not bear false witness, because you hate one who bears false witness against you. Thou shalt not covet your neighbor's wife, because you do not wish your own to be coveted by another. Thou shalt not covet your neighbor's goods, because if anyone should covet yours, it displeases you. Turn the tongue also upon yourself, when it displeases you that one harms you. All these are the precepts of God: given by the gift of Wisdom: they sound from above. Touch the psaltery, fulfill the law which your God came not to destroy, but to fulfill. For you will fulfill by love what you could not by fear. For he who by fearing does not do evil, would rather do it if it were permitted.

And so if the opportunity is not given, the will is still held guilty. Thinking on these things, you who are upright of heart: Give praise to the Lord on the harp, sing to him on the psaltery of ten strings.

Sing to him a new song. Put off the old man. For a new song does not belong to old men. None learn it except men renewed by grace out of oldness, and belonging now to the New Testament, which is the kingdom of heaven. For this all our love sighs. A new man, a new grace, a new life is commended to us. To speak of these things, to praise the Lord in these things, to sing a new song in newness of spirit, this is it. Sing well to him with a loud noise. He sings well who lives well. But this very good life of ours ought to have a kind of spiritual loud sound in the ears of God, so that whatever we do in living well, we do with all affection, all faith, all devotion, to the praise of God (as far as we are able). And thence he adds the reason, when he says:

For the word of the Lord is right, and all his works are in faith. The Lord's word is right: because it teaches right things, commands right things, preaches right things, promises right things. It is not twisted to any falsehood, to any vanity; it does not turn aside to the right hand or to the left; by a straight path, by the royal road, it leads us to the heavenly fatherland. Nor is God right only in word, but he has also proven faithful in his works, rendering to man what he promised. Let us hold fast to the most faithful debtor, since we hold the most merciful promiser. All the gifts in which we rejoice are from him. All his works are in faith. All instruct us, all send us to higher things. 5. He loves mercy and judgment. He does not say this as though he did not love other things, but because he works rather according to these. According to mercy, when he remits sins.

According to judgment, when he renders to both good and evil according to the quality of their merits. The time of mercy is now: the time of judgment shall be afterward. He now calls those who are turned away, he grants pardon for sins to those converted. He is patient with sinners, until they are converted. Judgment is to come. There will be repentance then too, but by then fruitless. Do you also love mercy and judgment. For it is written, Blessed are the merciful, for they shall obtain mercy. He who loves mercy shows mercy. But he who shows mercy shall obtain mercy. Again of judgment it is written, Can he who does not love judgment be healed? He loves judgment who scrutinizes his ways subtly, and entering the secret chamber of his heart, weighs what the Lord has bestowed on him, what he himself owes to the Lord God.

Hence the same Psalmist says elsewhere, The king's honor loves judgment: namely, that he who now honors God by faith may carefully judge what he owes him in his conduct. And Solomon says, The thoughts of the just are judgments. For every just man, by thinking within himself and by fearing, considers how strictly he will one day be struck, how long he patiently waits. He fears in those things which he remembers he has done. He punishes by weeping what he understands he has committed. He hates himself, such as he recognizes he has been. And he who now is, pursues him who was: and there arises a strife in the soul, giving birth to peace with God. And he does this so that whom he fears as judge, he may find merciful. Of which it is also added: The earth is full of the mercy of the Lord. What of the heavens? They do not need mercy, where there is no misery. On earth the misery of man abounds, the mercy of God superabounds.

Do the heavens, then, because they do not need mercy, not need the Lord? All things need the Lord, both misery and happiness. Without him the wretched is not relieved, without him the happy is not upheld. Therefore, lest perhaps you should ask about the heavens, he adds:

By the word of the Lord the heavens were established, and all their power by the spirit of his mouth. The heavens were not firm of themselves, nor did they supply their own firmness to themselves. Hear the one work of the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit. For when the Lord the Father establishes the heavens through the Word the Son, and strengthens them through the Spirit, it is clearly shown that the Father, and the Son, and the Spirit work as one. But here also we understand other heavens as established by divine power, that is, the Apostles, of whom it is written, The heavens declare the glory of God. These Almighty God made into heavens out of weak men, instructed them by the Word, strengthened them by the Spirit, sent them through all the earth, and commanded that his mercy, that is, the remission of sins, be preached.

These were so filled with the Spirit of the mouth of God, that it was said to them, For it is not you who speak, but the Spirit of your Father who speaks in you. Then the sea raged, that is, the world, with the huge waves of persecutors, which now remains enclosed within its own boundaries. Whence it is also added:

Gathering the waters of the sea as in a skin bottle. For the salt water of the sea, that is, the unfaithful and bitter people, who has remained among Christians, no longer dares to rage. But its hidden murmur gnaws at itself; enclosed by its own saltiness, it seethes within the mortal skin. Hence it is that elsewhere it is said, The sinner shall see and be angry, he shall gnash with his teeth and pine away. For the mortal skin covers the bitter thought. For, fearing for their skin, they hold within what they do not dare to let out. For the bitterness is the same, but those who then raged openly, now rage in secret. Let us then consider that God does not now lack whence he may bring forth what may correct us, when it is needed by us. Therefore it follows: Laying up the depths in storehouses. By storehouses is meant God's secret; by depths, the reprobate. He knows the hearts of all.

He knows what he brings forth in due time, whence he brings it forth, how much power he grants to the evil against the good, indeed to judge the evil, but to instruct the good. Let, then, what follows come to pass:

Let all the earth fear the Lord. You do not know whence your father brings forth what is needed to scourge you: who indeed has the treasures of the abyss for your discipline, by which he will instruct you unto the treasures of the heavens. Therefore return to fear, you who were already going toward security. And lest man should turn to fear something else besides God, he confirms us in the fear of God, when he adds, Let all who dwell in the world be moved by him. Let all be moved by him. Let them not fear another besides him. The serpent rages, is fierce, lies in wait; man hates; the devil assails: fear God. For the whole creation is under him whom you are bidden to fear. Whence he also adds:

For he spoke, and they were made: he commanded, and they were created. He made all things, all things follow his command. He spoke, that is, he willed, and all things were made out of formless matter. But from formless matter, by his command every creature received its proper form. He who made all things by word, and created by command: when he commands, things are moved; when he commands, they rest: and the malice of men can have the desire to harm, but it does not have its own power, if he does not grant it. For there is no power except from God. Therefore he adds:

The Lord scatters the counsels of the nations. Who thought to destroy the Church, and to build up idols and temples of the gods. He rejects, moreover, the thoughts of the peoples, that is, of the Jews, who not undeservedly were called peoples on account of the Law in which they ought to have lived. Their thoughts were about keeping their nation and their place. And he rejects the counsels of the princes. That is, of demons, and of kings, and leaders, and priests: whose counsel indeed was to kill Jesus. But herein it is scattered, because him whom they killed, they were not able to hold in death. For there is no wisdom, there is no prudence, there is no counsel against the Lord.

But the counsel of the Lord stands forever. Whence, unless of us, whom he foreknew and predestined beforehand? Who takes away the predestination of the Son of God before the foundation of the world? He saw us, he made us, he cleansed us: he sent to us, he redeemed us. This counsel of his stands forever. The thoughts of his heart to all generations. That is, his dispositions, which are called of the heart because they are ordered rationally, extend to every generation. Whence it is also added:

Blessed is the nation whose God is the Lord. Who, upon hearing this, would not raise himself up? Men love blessedness, and therefore men are perverse, because they wish to be evil, but do not wish to be wretched. And although misery is the inseparable companion of wickedness, these men, perversely, not only wish to be evil while not wishing to be wretched—which cannot happen—but they even wish to be evil precisely in order not to be wretched. Someone commits a theft. You ask why. Because of hunger, because of necessity. Therefore, so as not to be wretched, he becomes evil. And therefore he becomes more wretched, because he is evil. So all men always wish to be blessed, whether living wickedly or living well. But none shall be blessed except those who have been just. Ask, then, what you must possess in order to be blessed. But it cannot happen that something worse than you should make you better. Take then faithful counsel. Do you wish to be better than yourself?

Seek what is better than yourself, and from that you will be made better than yourself. What you seek is in the mind. For if you wish to be blessed, seek in your mind what is better. For since there are two things, the mind and the body, and of these two the mind is called the better: the body can be made better through that which is better, since the body is subject to the mind. So that, when your mind has become just, afterward your body too may be immortal. Through the illumination of the mind the body also merits incorruption, so that the reparation of the inferior comes about through the better. If, then, your mind is the good of your body, since it is better than your body, when you seek your good, seek that which is better than your mind. But what is your mind? Attend: in your mind is the image of God. The mind of man received it, and by inclining itself toward sin discolored it.

He himself came to it as its reformer, who before had been its former. The Word itself came, as we have heard from the Apostle: Be reformed in the newness of your mind. Now, then, it remains for you to seek what is better than your mind. What, I ask, could that be, but your God? You will find nothing better than your mind, because when your nature is made perfect it will be equal to the angels. Above that there is nothing but the Creator. Raise yourself up to him. Do not say, “That is too much for me.” Perhaps it is rather too much for you to possess gold than to possess the Lord. Gold, if you wish it, perhaps you will not have; God, when you wish him, you will have. For even before you willed it, he came to you: and while you were of adverse will, he called you: and that you might be converted, he terrified you: and when, terrified, you confessed, he consoled you.

He who grants you all things, he who made you to exist, who bestows sun, rain, fruits, health even upon those who are with you, even the wicked—he reserves for you something which he gives to none but you. But what does he reserve for you, if not himself? Covetousness speaks, iniquity says: Blessed is he whose is this villa, whose is this house, whose is this field. Restrain covetousness: hear the truth. What is this? Is not the Lord God of all things, who made and rules all things? Of all indeed, but more especially ours, who live from him as from God our Father. Let him himself be our Lord God: let him rule us, who created us, that we may be his blessed nation, his blessed possession: and let it pertain to us what follows: blessed is the people whom he has chosen for his inheritance. He commends, moreover, his mercy, by which he has regarded this blessed nation, when he adds:

The Lord looked from heaven, he saw all the sons of men. Earlier he said that the nation is blessed whose Lord God is possession and inheritance. And that he might show the same to be likewise a possession and an inheritance of the Lord, he added, The people whom he has chosen for his inheritance. And thus, in a wonderful and delightful way, each both possesses and is possessed by the other, as heir and inheritance, possessor and possession. Now he says that this same Lord, from heaven, as from an exalted place, whether from the height of his divinity or from the loftiness of his mercy, saw all the sons of men, placed low and far removed from himself. He saw, I say, and mercifully attended. He saw, because he had mercy on them. Hence we often say to a man when begging for mercy, “See me.” There is, then, a certain vision of a merciful heart, not the vision of one who punishes.

In this way the Lord deigned to see all the sons of men belonging to the Son of Man.

From his prepared dwelling place. That which he prepared for himself: that is, from the Apostles, from the preachers of truth, from the angels whom he sent to us. He looked upon all who dwell on the earth. As pilgrims in a foreign place. Whence elsewhere the blessed inheritance groans and says: Woe is me, that my sojourning is prolonged, I have dwelt among the dwellers of Cedar: my soul has long been a sojourner.

He who fashioned their hearts individually. For to one is given the word of wisdom, to another the word of knowledge, to another kinds of tongues, to others other and diverse gifts of graces, which one and the same Spirit works in them. He who understands all their works. That is, he sees more secretly and inwardly. He said this more forcefully than if he had said, He sees all their works. For God not only sees all the works which we do, but also understands and subtly attends with what will, with what intention we do the same things. Two men give to the poor: one seeks for himself a heavenly reward; the other, human praise. You see one thing in the two; God understands two. And as he understands, so he judges and discerns. Whence it sometimes happens that in one and the same work he condemns one and rewards the other.

And because he had earlier said, Blessed is the people whom he has chosen for his inheritance—lest it should seem that he had chosen the rich and powerful, and not the poor—he therefore adds:

A king is not saved by much power, and a giant will not be saved by the abundance of his strength. Kings of the earth, proud giants, and men powerful and trusting in themselves and their own strength, will not be saved. Who is more powerful than a king? Who stronger than a giant? Since, then, these are not saved by their own power and strength, let no one seek salvation except through the mercy of God.

A horse is deceptive for salvation: and he will not be saved by the abundance of his strength. The horse, that is, human felicity, which lifts a man up as a horse does its rider, is deceptive for salvation—it seems indeed to promise it, but cannot grant it. When you walk proudly in any honor, the higher you go, the more falsely you believe yourself to be not only more exalted but also more secure. For how do you know from what height you may be cast down? You will be crushed the more gravely, the more sublimely you were borne. Nor do I say that only the small felicity of this world is deceptive; but however great it may be, it remains deceptive. And this is what he says, In the abundance of his strength—that is, in the abundant strength of goods and riches—no man will be saved. Whence, then, shall I be saved? Do not seek long. Do not seek far off.

Behold, the eyes of the Lord are upon those who fear him. Behold, that is, salvation is held forth openly. He does not say, the eyes of the Lord are upon kings, upon the noble, upon the rich; but upon those who fear him. For God does not accept the person of man; he does not regard riches or honors; but only mercifully looks upon those who fear him and hope in him. And therefore he adds, And upon those who hope in his mercy. Understand: are the eyes of the Lord. To what end?

That he may deliver their souls from eternal death. For God promises us eternal life, yet does not desert us in this pilgrimage. For it follows: And feed them in famine. The time of famine is now. The time of fullness will be afterward. Blessed are they who hunger and thirst for justice, for they shall be filled. Meanwhile the merciful Lord nourishes us in this wilderness with his sacraments, his word, his grace, lest we fail on the way. But the full refreshment will come when what is said elsewhere shall be fulfilled: I shall be satisfied, when your glory shall appear. What in the meantime ought we to do and profess? It follows and says:

Our soul waits upon the Lord. As long as there is famine, as long as there is pilgrimage, our soul will be patient in the Lord. To such the Lord will say, You are they who have remained with me in my trials. Against which it is written: Woe to those who have lost patience. And how will you be able to wait upon the Lord, O holy soul? It follows, and says: For he is our helper and protector. He helps in battle, protects from the heat. He helps in good things, protects in adversity. At what price do you endure?

For our heart shall rejoice in him, and we have hoped in his holy name. For not in ourselves, where without him there is great want, but in him shall our heart rejoice. And therefore we shall so hope to come to him, because, while we were absent, he sent to us his name through faith. Hope here, that you may rejoice there. Hunger and thirst here, that you may feast there. He has set before us what we should love, in whom, and from what sun we should have confidence. He has filled us with the joy of hope.

After this there follows a brief and wholesome prayer. Let your mercy, Lord, be upon us, as we have hoped in you. For already we have set our hope in you: already we venerate your holy name, in which we hope, and call upon it over ourselves. Therefore, as we have hoped in you, so may we feel your mercy upon us.

A Psalm of David, when he changed his countenance before Achimelech, and dismissed him, and went away. In this manner he changed it. For he drummed, he feigned madness, he struck himself with his own hands, and saliva ran down through his beard, and this he did in the gate of the city of David, because the Philistines were seeking to destroy him. Achis, seeing these things, who was king of Gath, said, Why have you brought this madman in to me? David drummed, that is, Christ was dying on the cross; he feigned, when out of merciful affection he humbled himself; he struck himself with his own hands, when he said, This is my body. And saliva ran down through his beard, that is, his words, when he said, Unless you eat the flesh of the Son of Man, and so on. These seemed childish to those who are Achis (which is interpreted, “How is this?” or, “What is this?”), but to the barbarians, that is, to men, they seemed manly.

The true David before Achimelech, that is, before the kingdom of his father, that is, among the nation of the Jews, changed his countenance, that is, the manner of the former sacrifice (this being according to Aaron), and dismissed him, and went away to the nations, where he instituted the priesthood according to the order of Melchisedech. The subject matter is the change of the priesthood according to the order of Melchisedech, which is noted where it says, Magnify the Lord with me. The commendation is when he says, For the Lord is sweet. The prophet in this psalm admonishes that each one should fear God, since there is no want to those who fear him: to a filial fear, embracing all good men, when he says: Come, children, hear me. And in doing this, he intends to generate charity in them, where he says: The Lord keeps all their bones, not one of them shall be broken; deterring them from sin, saying that the death of sinners is most grievous.

I will bless the Lord at all times, his praise shall always be in my mouth. Christ said this, and let the Christian say it too, since he is in the body of Christ. At all times, he says, that is, in prosperity and adversity I will bless and praise the Lord. When prosperous things happen, both the good and the wicked together praise and bless God. If adverse things come, indeed the wicked murmur, but the good bless. Hence it is that blessed Job, having lost his goods and bereft of his children, said, The Lord gave, the Lord hath taken away: blessed be the name of the Lord. But since there are some who wish to be praised for their own goodness, he guards against this vice when he adds:

In the Lord shall my soul be praised. It shall not be praised in itself, nor in the wisdom of the world, nor in loftiness of words, but in the Lord, from whom it received both virtue and power. And because holy men desire to share their goods with others, he immediately adds: Let the meek hear, and rejoice. He rightly does not say the wrathful, but the meek. For when the not-meek hear, they do not rejoice, but grow angry. And these are they who say, that we should not be made asses. The Lord wishes to have tame beasts of burden. For the horse and the mule, of which we spoke a little before, sometimes stiffen their necks, and by their fierceness throw off their rider. They are tamed by bridles, by the bit, by the whip, until they learn to bear their master. But you, before your mouths are struck with the bit, be meek, and bear the Lord. Do not wish to be praised yourself, but let him be praised who sits upon you.

But now let us hear what he further admonishes us.

Magnify the Lord with me, and let us exalt his name together. Whoever is in the body of Christ ought to take care that, when he magnifies the Lord, he draws others with him to magnify God. We magnify the Lord when we proclaim him great, wonderful, and ineffable; to exalt his name is to make him known, high and eternal, among all the nations we can reach. But what is "together"? In unity, in concord, as the first preachers did, who had one heart and one soul. Then he tells of his own good things, whence they came to him, when he adds:

I sought the Lord, and he heard me, and delivered me from all my troubles. Beyond all things, temporal matters being set aside, or with the whole heart, with all my strength, I sought God, and he heard me, so that I found him. But those who seek the Lord are troubled in this world in many ways. For all who wish to live piously in Christ suffer persecution. But in this there is consolation, that afterward they are delivered from all their tribulations. When? When death shall be swallowed up in victory, and this mortal shall have put on immortality. Then this lover, who does not wish to embrace alone what he loves, exhorts us, and says:

Come to him, and be enlightened, and your faces shall not be confounded. We approach God by good pursuits and spiritual exercises, by reading, meditating, praying, loving. We are enlightened through understanding, through grace, through doctrine, through life. And the enlightened are not confounded, that is, they do not blush for their sins; or they do not blush at the reproaches and insults brought against them. Hence Paul is not ashamed of the gospel. Hence the apostles are not confounded, but rather glory, because they were counted worthy to suffer reproach for the name of Jesus. He now proposes to us as an example a certain poor man, when he adds:

This poor man cried, and the Lord heard him, and saved him out of all his troubles. Who is this? Notable, lovable, imitable—and perhaps he himself is Christ, who, though rich in all things, was made so poor for us. He cried out in the form of a servant, and the Lord the Father heard him. This poor man was made obedient unto the death of the cross. Wherefore God exalted him, and gave him a name which is above every name. Behold how the Lord heard him. And he is delivered from all tribulations, because Christ, rising from the dead, dies now no more; death shall no longer have dominion over him. Through this poor man the way is shown to you, by which you may return to your homeland. He was made poor, that you might not fear, but rather love poverty. He suffered, that you also might suffer. He cried out, that you also might cry out. He was delivered, that you also might hope to be delivered.

And he holds out to you a great assurance, when he adds: The angel of the Lord shall encamp round about them that fear him, and shall deliver them. Only fear God, and be secure. For this poor man, who was called the angel of great counsel, encamps round about them that fear him, guarding and defending them on every side, so that the enemy may not be able to break in anywhere.

Openly he now wishes to speak of that very sacrament, in which he was borne in his own hands, when he adds: O taste, and see, that the Lord is sweet. He shows you that sound madness and sober drunkenness of David, who under a certain figure showed something, I know not what, when those wretched men before king Achish said, How is this (title)? So the Lord said, Unless one shall eat my flesh and drink my blood, he shall not have life in him. And those in whom Achish reigned—that is, error and ignorance—said, How can this man give us his flesh to eat? If you do not understand, taste and see how sweet the Lord is. He who loves, tastes; he who understands, sees. But if he does not understand, Achish is king; David has changed his countenance and departed from you, and left you, and gone away. And therefore, Blessed is the man that hopeth in him—not in man, not in the world, not in himself, but in God.

On the contrary, he who does not hope in God is wretched. And lest, after they had tasted, they should be secure, he immediately adds:

Fear the Lord, all ye his saints. To fear God is to humble oneself before him, and, fearing, to take heed lest in what we do—whether in thought, or in word, or in deed—we offend him. Those who do this are saints. And as if someone should ask, What does it profit to fear the Lord? There follows: For there is no want to them that fear him. And he proves this, when he adds:

The rich have wanted, and have suffered hunger; but they that seek the Lord shall not be diminished of any good. It might seem to you that rather those should hunger who, having despised the world and become poor, seek the Lord, while those who abound in earthly riches should not be diminished of goods. But do not judge men according to their possessions, but according to the virtues of their souls. These lovers of the world, who outwardly appear rich, suffer within no small poverty of mind. But those who seek God within themselves, and desire nothing outside of God, are not diminished of any good, but rather are filled with the highest good, which is God. They are filled with faith, hope, and charity. They are filled with holy morals and virtues, which are true riches, which drive out poverty of soul. And therefore he admonishes us, saying:

Come, children, hearken to me: I will teach you the fear of the Lord. It greatly edifies us that he says, Come, as if he said, You who are idle at leisure, or who are engrossed in earthly vanities, who labor and are burdened: leave behind what hinders you, and come to me. But hear with the ears of the heart. Obey, as children: with fatherly affection I will teach you the fear of the Lord. And fittingly he says, "the fear," for this is the first step of spiritual doctrine and heavenly wisdom, as it is written, The fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom. Whoever comes to the service of God ought to make this his first pursuit, to learn how he ought to fear God. But first we must note what great art of teaching the holy man employs here. For first he strives to win the goodwill of his hearers. And he sets before them what most delights them to hear, saying:

Who is the man that desireth life? I do not speak of life set in misery, but who is he that loveth to see good days? Therefore he sets forth this, which all desire, that he might thus kindle them to do what he commands. If you want life, want eternal life. If you love good days, love eternal days. This is true life, to live in God. Days in the world are always evil. Days in God are always good. Therefore if you want life and good days, hear and do.

Keep thy tongue from evil—that you may not speak evil openly. And thy lips from speaking guile—that you may utter good words with your mouth, and hide evil in your heart, as those do who speak peace with their neighbor, but have evil in their hearts. Before the other members, he commands the tongue to be restrained from sin first, because this is the more untamable member in the whole body, of which it is written, In the hands of the tongue are life and death. Of which also the Apostle says, The tongue is a restless evil, full of deadly poison. Because, therefore, it kills the soul if it is not restrained, and because we most often fall through the tongue, the holy man rightly commands that the tongue be curbed first, since he saw that it prevails greatly in the body toward sin. Then he adds a general precept:

Decline from evil. And because this is not sufficient, he immediately adds, And do good. Again, because these two would not suffice for perfect righteousness, he immediately joined: Seek peace and pursue it. To leave evil belongs to beginners. To do good belongs to those who are advancing. In these two precepts righteousness consists.

But the end of perfect righteousness is to be so peaceable within oneself, that the flesh agrees with the mind, and the mind with God, so that it can no longer be moved from this rest by any adversity. Or by the name of peace we may understand the Lord Christ, who is true peace, who made both one. Him we ought to seek with all our heart, with all our affection; and indeed we pursue him if we imitate him by living perfectly. He then commends the mercy of God upon us, when he adds:

The eyes of the Lord are upon the just. That is, the gazes of divine mercy are upon those who live justly. And if they ask for anything: His ears, that is, his clemency and power, are ready to hear their prayers. He sees those who work and labor. He hears those who groan and pray. Live, then, so that you may be able to appear worthy in the eyes of God. Pray, so that your prayers may reach even to his ears. But perhaps some wicked man will say, I sin securely, because God does not see me. Hear what follows.

But the countenance of the Lord is upon them that do evil—to what end? That he may cut off the remembrance of them from the earth. By "countenance" understand the terror of God's severity. To the good indeed he is gentle and propitious; but to the wicked, terrible and strict. And just as the just shall be in everlasting remembrance, so the wicked shall be removed from everlasting remembrance. Then their remembrance will be perished, when none of the saints shall be moved toward them by any pious affection. Whence Abraham said, Between us and you there is fixed a great chaos. He now proves that the ears of the Lord are toward the prayers of the just, when he adds,

The righteous cried out, and the Lord heard them: and delivered them out of all their tribulations. The three children cried out in the furnace (Daniel 3). Daniel cried out in the den (Daniel 4). The children of Israel cried out in captivity. Christ cried out on the cross. The Apostles cried out in persecution; the martyrs in death; confessors and virgins in the faith. As many as cried out in this manner were heard by the Lord, whether bodily or spiritually, and delivered out of all their tribulations. Strengthened, then, by the examples of so many saints, let us cry out to the Lord with all the humility and affliction of heart, that we too may be heard and delivered from tribulation. For it follows,

The Lord is nigh unto them that are of a troubled heart, and he will save the humble of spirit. In four ways the hearts of the saints are troubled in this age: namely, either by the sorrow of penitence, or by the anxiety of the present life, or by the desire of the heavenly homeland, or by the fear of the punishment to come. It is ours, then, to crush the heart. It is the Lord's, through his mercy and grace, to draw near to the crushed heart, that he may enlighten it, strengthen it, and confirm it. From whence the heart is crushed, thence humility is generated. For virtue proceeds from the work. From the contrition of heart we perceive the divine presence. From humility of spirit we already attain salvation itself. Where there is the work, there is grace; where there is virtue, there already is health. A great mystery. God is above all things. You raise yourself up, and you do not touch him; you humble yourself, and he himself comes down to you.

But it is the peculiar lot of the righteous to be troubled in this age. Whence it is also added:

Many are the tribulations of the righteous. But in these there follows consolation, when at once it adds: And out of them all the Lord will deliver them. Let not Christians therefore be righteous, nor hear the word of God, for this reason, that they should suppose themselves not to be afflicted with tribulations. God does not promise this. Rather, if they are unjust, they have fewer tribulations; if just, many. But after few or no tribulations, those come to everlasting tribulation, from which they are never delivered. But these, after many tribulations, will come to everlasting peace, where they will never suffer any evil. But meanwhile

The Lord keepeth all their bones: not one of them shall be broken. The bones are the firm supports of the faithful. And just as flesh is sustained by bones, so is the soul sustained by virtues.

The Lord therefore keeps all their bones, so that not one of them is broken: because he thus preserves the virtues of his saints, that none of them fail in temptation. And rightly he does not say, One of them shall not be broken, but says, shall not be broken (bruised/crushed), because the virtue of the saints is sometimes indeed bent in temptation, but not crushed, that is, it does not perish entirely, because it remains whole in intention. And whence they, being tempted, fall for a moment, thence, being roused, they rise again more robustly to virtue. But let us hear what he adds concerning the reprobate:

The death of sinners is the worst. But because there are many kinds of sins, and it is difficult, or perhaps impossible, not to be a sinner in this life, he added at once of what kind of sinners the death would be worst. And they that hate the just shall offend/be guilty. What just one, but him who justifies the impious? What just one, but our Lord Jesus Christ, who is also the propitiation for our sins? They therefore who hate him have the worst death, because they die in their sins, who are not reconciled to God through him. The death, whether worst or best, is to be understood with regard to the soul, not with regard to the body of condemned sinners.

Again he says of the just: The Lord will redeem the souls of his servants. For all were servants of sin. The blood of Christ was shed, and they were redeemed at so great a price. Consider, then, who redeemed you, and by whom or at what price he redeemed and saved you. God himself, your Creator, redeemed you; he himself shed his blood for you. From the devil himself and from sin he saved you. Being made, then, the servant of so great a Lord, strive to serve him in holiness and justice. But a great question arises when it is further said, And none of them that hope in him shall offend. For what does the Apostle say? If we say that we have no sin, we deceive ourselves. And again, In many things we all offend. But Paul resolves this question for us, where he says: If I do that which I would not, it is no more I that do it, but sin that dwelleth in me.

If, then, those who hope in God offend through the concupiscence of the flesh, it is no longer they who do it, but sin that dwells in them. For in that they hope in God, they are already not in the flesh, but in the spirit. But if the flesh lusts, they who are in the spirit do not consent, and therefore do not offend.

The title of the following psalm is, A Psalm of David, this one. This psalm is attributed to David, that is, to Christ, who here speaks. What he says, "This one," may be taken for distinction or excellence: this one, that is, the notable one, of course, not the carnal king, but the King of kings, the Lord. David is interpreted as "strong of hand," or "desirable." In this he is strong of hand, because he conquered our death. In this he is desirable, because he promised eternal life. For what is stronger than this hand, which touched heaven, and, having died, rose again? What is stronger than this hand, which conquered the world, armed not with iron but pierced with wood? And what is more desirable than he, whom the martyrs, not seeing, wished to die, that they might deserve to come to him? Let the psalm, therefore, be sung worthily to him—let our heart, let our tongue sing worthily to him.

It intends to admonish us to endurance of the passion, that we may bear adversities, if we wish to have glorious rewards. The subject matter is the passion and resurrection. He treats it thus: in the first part he sets forth a prayer; in the second he enumerates the passion together with the exultation of the resurrection; in the third part, what that passion and resurrection accomplish: thus he says:

Judge, O Lord, them that wrong me: overthrow them that fight against me. Those who do wrong and those who fight are our visible and invisible enemies. Judge, he says, and overthrow. As if he were plainly saying, discern and destroy. How?

Take hold of arms and shield, and rise up to help me. It is a great spectacle, to see God armed for you. But his arms, with which he strikes the enemies, if we shall have profited well, will be ourselves. For just as we, that we may be armed, have this from him, so is he himself armed from us. The shield is his good will; as it is said elsewhere, Lord, thou hast crowned us as with the shield of thy good will. Or the shield is our faith, by which we are protected lest we be struck by the fiery darts of the enemy. But what are we, already the arms of God, however splendid, however sharp, however gleaming with the light of wisdom—what can we do unless God take hold of us and fight on our behalf? Whatever the best arms, they lie useless if they have no warrior. Let God, then, take hold of us: and when we shall be in his hand, let him use us however he wills.

Rise up, he says, to help me, that is, make yourself known, appear, be felt, aid me to fight.

Bring out the sword, and shut up the way against them that persecute me. As if he were saying, Multiply vengeance, and let the approach be closed to those who wish to destroy my name. Or by the sword he designates any faithful soul. Let the righteous abound, and the sword is drawn out. But it is shut up against him who has nothing perverse to say against the saints. And because it is their voice, There is no salvation for him in his God: Say to my soul, I am thy salvation. Say it, and it shall be done. I shall seek no other salvation, besides my God. And if a man helps me, if an angel, if any other creature: through that being God helps me. For all things are subject to him: and therefore not that being, but he himself, is my salvation. Then he begins to pray for his enemies: but here it is prophecy. And things said in the manner of a wish are set forth with the intent of prophesying.

"Let this be, and let that be," is nothing other than "this is and will be." Hear, then, this prophecy:

4. Let them be confounded and ashamed that seek my soul. As if he were saying, They shall be confounded and shall be ashamed: for it has been done. Many have been wholesomely confounded, many ashamed by the persecution of Christ, and have passed over, by devout piety, to the fellowship of his members: and this would not have happened, unless they had been confounded and ashamed. Let them be turned back and be confounded that devise evil against me. Let them not go before, but follow. Let them not give counsel, but receive it. For Peter wished to go before the Lord, when he said, Be it far from thee, Lord, be merciful to thee, let this not be. But what does the Lord say? Get thee behind me, satan. By going before, you are satan; by following, you will be a disciple. This, then, is said also to these.

Let them be turned back and confounded because of their sins: let them blush unto penance: and when they have begun to follow behind, they will no longer devise evils against me, but will desire good things. He has wished these things well for them. But because there are two kinds of those who are confounded—for either they are confounded to this end, that they may be converted to Christ, or they are confounded to this end, that they may be condemned by Christ—what he said of the converted, he adds concerning the reprobate:

5. Let them become as dust before the wind, and let the angel of the Lord straiten them. The wind is temptation, the dust is the wicked. When temptation comes, the dust is lifted up, and neither stands nor resists. Such the angel straitens, when the invisible enemy reduces them under his own power. Concerning these he further adds:

6. Let their way become darkness and slippery ground: and let the angel of the Lord pursue them.

Who does not shudder at dark ground, who does not beware slippery ground? In darkness and slipperiness, where do you set your foot? These two are great evils, the great punishment of the human race, which proceed from the temptation of the angel that straitens them. By "way" action is designated. By "darkness," blindness of heart. By "slipperiness," the headlong rush of the deed. When the reprobate, tempted and confounded, are straitened by the evil angel, first they are darkened by blindness of mind, then they slip into the slipperiness of evils. And they can no longer be converted, because the tempting angel pursues them, that he may drive them from bad to worse, until they fall into the pit of iniquity, and are sunk into the depth of despair and death. But whence come so many evils? By what merit? He continues and says:

7. Because without cause they have hidden their net of destruction for me. That is, they prepared hidden snares for my destruction. And this without cause, because I did no evil, nor harmed them.

In vain they have reproached my soul. For they said many reproaches against the Lord. But this in vain, since they said what was false and proved nothing. But how did they hide a snare for him, who saw the hearts of those who hid it? But it was only so far as though he were like one ignorant, as if he were deceived, when it was they who were deceived in that very point in which they thought he was deceived. But this was done as an example of our patience, for whom it was necessary to live among the wicked, and to endure the wicked, whether knowing or unknowing. But what happened to this people of the reprobate? He continues and says:

Let the snare come upon him which he knoweth not. A magnificent retribution. Nothing more just. They hid a snare, and thereby are deceived unknowingly, whence they wished to deceive. Thereby they are harmed, whence they attempted to harm. For it follows: And the trap which he hid, let it take him. As if someone should prepare a cup of poison for another, and forgetful, drink it himself. And as if he should dig a pit, that his enemy might fall into it: and he, forgetting what he had dug, walking that way, should fall into it first. So everyone who harms another, harms himself before the other: rightly therefore it is added, And into the snare let him fall therein. Not into another, but into the very same. For whence he seeks to deceive another, thence he first deceives himself. And it can happen that his malice does not harm another: but it cannot happen that it does not harm himself. But as for me, what?

My soul shall rejoice in the Lord. As in him, from whom she heard, I am thy salvation: as one not seeking other riches from without. As one not seeking to overflow with pleasures and earthly goods: but truly loving freely. Not wishing to receive from him something delightful, but setting before herself him alone in whom to delight. For what is better than God? And she shall delight in his salvation. That is, in his Son, through whom we are saved: through whom we have access to God, that rejoicing in him, we may believe with the heart unto righteousness, but confess with the mouth unto salvation. Whence also it is added:

All my bones shall say, Lord, who is like unto thee? By bones are meant, in the body of the Lord, all the righteous, firm, strong of heart, yielding to no persecutions and temptations so as to consent to evil. And whence can they yield to no temptations, except when they believe God to be omnipotent, inestimable, able to free them from every tribulation? Whence also they say, Lord, who is like unto thee? Delivering the needy out of the hand of them that are stronger than he: the poor and needy from them that spoil him. For the devil was stronger to hold thee, because he himself conquered and despoiled thee, to whom thou didst consent. But what did the strong hand do? He bound the strong man, pouring out the sword and to shut him up: and out of his hand, that is, out of his power, he delivered the needy, without strength, poor in spirit, needy one who had no helper.

For who is a helper to thee, except him to whom thou sayest, The Lord is my helper and my redeemer? If thou wilt presume upon thine own strength, thence thou shalt fall, whence thou didst presume: if upon another's, he wishes to dominate, not to help. Therefore he must be sought who both redeems and sets free. But let us hear what he subjects in his own person:

Unjust witnesses rising up, asked me things I knew not. Unjust witnesses arose, when with unjust mind they spoke false testimony against him. But what is it that he knew not, who saw the hearts and deceits of the unjust? He knew not sin, not as if by not judging it, but by not committing it. There are expressions of this kind even in daily use. When you say of someone, He knows not how to do evil, because he does not do evil. What is foreign to the deed is foreign to the conscience. What is foreign to the conscience is foreign to knowledge: and it is said, He knew not. Christ knew not how to blaspheme, hence he was questioned by his persecutors: concerning whom it follows,

They repaid me evils for good: barrenness to my soul. I brought fruitfulness, they repaid barrenness. I brought life, they death. I honor, they insults. I medicine, they wounds. And in all these things which they repaid, there was assuredly barrenness.

But as for me, when they were troublesome to me, I clothed myself with sackcloth. We do not find, according to the letter, that the Lord Jesus wore sackcloth. It must be understood, then, that the Lord called by similitude the mortality of his flesh, sackcloth. Why sackcloth? Because of the likeness of sinful flesh. For the Apostle says, God sent his Son in the likeness of sinful flesh, that he might condemn sin in the flesh by sin: that is, he clothed his Son with sackcloth, that from the sackcloth he might condemn the goats: not because there was sin in the Lord, but the likeness of sinful flesh; for death exists only from sin, and assuredly that flesh was mortal. When, therefore, they were troublesome to him, he clothed himself in sackcloth, that is, he hid himself in the flesh. He did not avenge himself, he did not display himself. Hence the Apostle admonishes us, saying, Avenge not yourselves, dearly beloved: but give place unto wrath. Therefore he adds, I humbled my soul with fasting.

We do not read, according to the letter, that the Lord fasted in his passion: but spiritually Christ hungers for our good works. And because in those crucifying him he found nothing good, therefore he fasted. For they repaid the barrenness of his soul. For what a fast was his, who scarcely found one thief whom he might taste on the cross? And the Apostles fled from him. And there is no greater or better business in tribulation than to withdraw from the noise which is without, and to go into the interior secrets of the mind, and there to pray the Lord that we be not overcome in temptation. Then also that even those who persecute us may be converted to the health of righteousness. Therefore it is added:

And my prayer shall be turned into my bosom. By a sign we recognize a secret. In the secret of the heart we ought to pray, where God sees, where God hears. Whence it is said in the Gospel, But thou, when thou hast prayed, enter into thy chamber, and so forth. And by this we are well admonished. But in Christ the Lord we ought to understand something more. I understand that in his own bosom he had the Father. For God was in Christ, reconciling the world to himself. In himself, therefore, he had him whom he might beseech: because he himself had said, I am in the Father, and the Father is in me. With what affection he loved those for whom he prayed, he shows when he adds: 15. As a neighbor, as our brother, so did I please them: as one mourning and made sorrowful, so was I humbled. Some say this, because case is used for case: as if he said, as of a neighbor and of a brother.

Christ, therefore, was pleasing to God the Father concerning his persecutors, as concerning his brothers and neighbors: for he loved them as his neighbors and brothers. But greater love hath no man than this, that a man lay down his life for his friends. And because they were unwilling to yield to him, he was humbled as one mourning in body, and made sorrowful in soul. By the Lord's example, therefore, we are admonished not only to love those whom we endure, but also, being made sorrowful, to blot out their wicked deeds. Thus was I humbled for them: but what did they do? It follows and says:

And they rejoiced against me. Concerning those things which were adverse and contrary to me. And they gathered together into one counsel and the same will, that they might betray and seize me by guile. Scourges were gathered together, that is, multiplied and united upon me, and I knew it not. For I knew no fault in myself, for which I ought to have been scourged. They were scattered and not pricked in heart. For according to the inner man they are destroyed, and separated from the bond of charity. Or they were scattered, when they saw the earthquake and the signs. They were not pricked by this unto repentance. Hence he designates the great hardness and wickedness of their heart.

They tempted me. For they said, If he be the Son of God, let him come down now from the cross, and we will believe him. They mocked me with mockery. Because after he said, They mocked, he also added, With mockery, he clearly hints that that mockery was not from a rash outburst of word, but from deliberate purpose and studied intent of mind. They gnashed with bestial ferocity their teeth upon me, that is, with their gnawings. From these words, therefore, he shows us how great humility, how great charity, how great patience our merciful Redeemer had toward men so wicked, so perverse, so faithless. For we must know, as a matter of fact, that this was the reason why our Head suffered: namely, that he might offer to his body an example of patience (1 Peter 2). For the Lord suffered by his own will, not by necessity.

His voluntary passion is our necessary consolation: that when perchance we suffer such things, we may look upon our Head; and admonished by his example, may learn ourselves also to suffer with him. For if we suffer together, we shall be glorified together. Thus they acted against me; but thou,

Lord, when wilt thou look? When by mercifully attending wilt thou bring it to pass that thou deliver me out of their power? Restore my soul from their malice, my only one from the lions. As if he said, My soul, which is unique, exempt from sin. For no other soul is without sin. This soul, I say, snatched away from the malicious people, and delivered from the lions, namely, from the princes and priests, restore it from the passion: that thou mayest make it, restored to the body, together with that body immortal and incorruptible. What wilt thou do, O holy soul, after thou hast risen again?

I will confess to thee in the great church, I will praise thee among a grave people. Confession is indeed made in every multitude, but God is praised in all. For in that great Church spread throughout the whole world, there is chaff and there is grain. The chaff flies away, the grain remains. Therefore among the grave people, whom the wind of temptation does not carry off, in these God is praised. For among the chaff he is always blasphemed. And how shall I praise thee:

Let not them that are mine enemies wrongfully rejoice over me, who hate me without cause, and wink with their eyes. They would indeed rejoice greatly, if Christ had not risen: but because he rose, their joy was turned into mourning. He rightly says that they were unjustly adverse to him, namely, not out of love, but out of hatred: not from zeal for correction, but from the will to harm. They hated him without cause, that is, without fault, without merit. Those who wink with their eyes are dissembling hypocrites, who declare with their countenance what they do not bear in their heart. Concerning whom it is presently added:

For indeed they spoke peaceably to me. For they said, Good Master, we know that thou art true, and regardest not the person of man. These and similar are peaceful words under the guise of flattery. And speaking in the anger of the land, they devised deceits. They spoke in anger, fearing lest they should lose the land and the nation. But for this cause, with an angry mind, they spoke on behalf of their land, that they might take Jesus by guile and kill him. Such was their thought.

And they opened their mouth wide against me. Blaspheming openly. And they cried, Crucify, crucify. They said, Aha, aha. That is, well, well; it is an insulting praise. Our eyes have seen. We have seen what he was, and at last we have known him. Where are the powers which he performed? Why does he, who saved others, not save himself? But the Lord was patient. On the cross he had not lost power, but was showing patience. For what great thing would it have been for him to descend from the cross, who was afterward able to rise from the sepulchre? But he would have seemed to yield to those who mocked him. And it was fitting that, rising, he should show himself to his own, and not to them: because his resurrection signified a new life; but new life is known to friends, not to enemies.

You have seen, Lord, their insults and reproaches. You have known their wickedness, and my innocence. And therefore, Be not silent. But pronounce sentence. You who are not silent as to the precept, be not silent as to the judgment. Lord, be not far from me. Although he is secure, that God does not depart from him (for one person exists in two natures, Man and Word), yet, because he knows he has nothing of his own from his humanity, he prays, so as to give an example of praying to others, who ought to have absolutely no confidence in their humanity. I say, be not far, but rather, Arise, in helping me: and attend to my judgment. That is, consider what sort of judgment has been made concerning me. And lest it be thought that judgment ought to be attended to according to the punishment, he adds: My God, and my Lord, unto my cause. As if he were to say, You who are my creator and my redeemer, attend not to the punishment, but to my cause.

Not to that which the thief has in common with me, but to that of which it is said, Blessed are they who suffer persecution for justice’ sake. For this cause is distinct. For the punishment is alike for the good and the wicked. And so it is not the punishment that makes the martyr, but the cause. And therefore he adds:

Judge me according to my justice, O Lord my God. Because you are just, distinguish me as one unjustly judged: and do what is just, that is, according to justice, judge according to the cause, and give the sentence of judgment not according to the punishment.

And let them not exult over me. Let them not say in their hearts, Aha, aha, our soul: nor let them say, We have devoured him. That is, we have entirely destroyed him. Which indeed they could not do, when they heard that he had risen. These things too he prays not as one uncertain about himself, but that he might set before us an example of praying. He also asks that such men be converted, when it is added:

Let them blush and be ashamed together, who rejoice at my evils. As if he were to say, Let them repent and honor me, who rejoiced at my passion. Hence too it is that the merciful Lord admonishes us in his Gospel, saying, If you love those who love you only, what reward will you have? Do not even the publicans do this? But love your enemies. Do good to those who hate you. And pray for those who persecute and slander you: that you may be sons of your Father, who is in heaven. Whence again in the voice of our Head it is added, Let them be clothed with confusion and reverence, who speak evil things against me. That is, let them likewise be converted, blushing at their own evils, and showing reverence to me, they who sinned against me if not in deed, then in word. Therefore he said, Let them be clothed, so that past evils might be covered through penitence. In contrast to this,

Let them exult and rejoice, who wish my justice. Exultation pertains to body and soul together: joy only to the mind. To exult and to rejoice, then, is to be filled with joy both outwardly and inwardly. Those who wish to decline from evil, and to do good, these are they who wish the justice of God. And it should be noted, that he does not say, Who do, but, who wish. For many do works of justice, not from will. But no one does good unwillingly, even if what he does is good. For if the action seems good, yet the will is held guilty. But the virtue of justice lies not in the action, but in the will. Rightly, then, are those who wish justice bidden to exult: because the love of justice generates both a new life and spiritual joy. And lest they should wish to glory in themselves on this account, it is immediately added, And let them say always, Let the Lord be magnified.

For it is fitting always to magnify and praise him who works in us both to will and to work according to good will. And he rightly adds: Who wish peace to his servant. For it is not enough for the servants of God to wish justice, unless they also strive to wish peace. Whence, when above he had said, Decline from evil and do good, he immediately added, Seek peace and pursue it. Peace is when flesh and spirit agree in God. In this peace justice is fulfilled. And nothing else remains, except perseverance. Whence fittingly it is added next:

And my tongue shall meditate on your justice, your praise all the day. Meditation seems to belong more to the heart than to the tongue. But because holy men meditate day and night on the law of the Lord, and speak what they meditate: therefore their tongue is said to meditate on the justice of God. Hence it is written, The mouth of the wise is in their heart. But whose tongue endures to meditate your praise all the day? But good works, a good life, have their own tongue before the Lord. If you live well all the day, you will praise God all the day.

The unjust man has said, that he sin within himself. Many say this: We cannot be without sin. Such is our nature. Such God made us. If he himself did not will it, we would not sin. Why does the unjust man say this? There is no fear of God before his eyes. If he feared God, he would not say this: rather he would accuse himself, not God. Where there is no fear, there is dissolution of soul. But the fear of God is the bridle of sin. Because, then, he wishes to hide himself from God as he truly is, it is rightly added concerning him:

Because he has acted deceitfully in his sight: that his iniquity may be found unto hatred. He acts deceitfully in the sight of God, whoever wishes to hide his sin from him. And this is the iniquity that God hates, and severely punishes. When a man sins, and then repents, and acknowledges that he has done wrong, blaming or accusing no one else but himself: and thence with his whole heart, with whole groaning, turns to the mercy of God: such iniquity is not found by God unto hatred. Rather it is easily forgiven him. But because he not only lives evilly, but also defends his evil life by pride: this is the man whom God hates. According to the hardness of his heart, moreover, and his impenitent heart, he treasures up for himself wrath in the day of wrath and revelation of the just judgment of God: of whom it is further added:

The words of his mouth are iniquity and deceit. He pursues iniquity part by part, showing it in knowledge, in act, in word. Many act deceitfully, so as to find their own iniquity: that is, they do not act from the heart so that they might be able to find it and hate it. They would find it, if they wished. But they do not wish to, so that they may thus be able to defend and excuse themselves. And just as there is deceit in the inquiry, so also in the defense. For if you say to any of them, Why do you do this evil? Does he answer you? How many do this. Is God going to destroy them all? Thus, then, speaking iniquity, and covering himself badly, iniquity and deceit are found in his mouth. He did not wish to understand, that he might act well. There are men who wish to understand, and cannot. But others who do not wish to, and therefore do not understand.

But it is one thing when someone tries to understand something, and cannot on account of the weakness of the flesh, as it is written, For the corruptible body weighs down the soul, and the earthly habitation presses down the mind that thinks many things: and, as the Apostle says, the animal man does not perceive the things that are of the Spirit of God. It is another thing when the human heart acts more perniciously against itself, so that what it could understand, if good will were added, it does not understand: not because it is difficult, but because the will is opposed. And the former is indeed weakness: the latter is the height of iniquity. The former is infirmity, the latter deliberate choice. But let us still hear what is added further concerning that unjust man.

He has devised iniquity on his bed. That is, in the secret chamber of his heart. He has stood by every way that is not good. That is, he has persevered in sinning. But malice he has not hated. There is the fruit, there the end. Can you not have malice at all? Then at least hate it. For when you have hated it, it scarcely creeps upon you to do some evil. For sin is in the mortal body. But what does the Apostle say? Let not sin reign in your mortal body, to obey its desires. And a little after the same Paul says: For when you were servants of sin, you were free from justice. It is one thing not to fight, and to be in true and perpetual peace. Another to fight, and to conquer. Another to fight and be conquered. Another neither to fight, but to be dragged along. For there are men altogether who do not fight, such as is this one of whom he speaks.

For when he said, But malice he has not held in hatred, how does he fight against that which he does not hate? This man is dragged along by malice, and does not resist. But there are those who begin to fight, but because they presume upon their own strength, they fall. And there are those who fight, and are not conquered, because they do not presume upon themselves: but commit themselves wholly to the divine mercy. Concerning these he adds, turning to the familiar speech of the Lord, and saying:

Lord, your mercy is in heaven. The mercy of God is understood in two ways. One is that which he commonly bestows here upon good and evil alike, such as the abundance of goods, health of body, knowledge, learning, prophecy, and other such things. But because these things are transitory, this is a temporal mercy. There is another, which God bestows only on the good and the holy: such as the remission of sins, divine charity, eternal life. This indeed is not earthly, but heavenly: not transitory, but eternal. But how has this been announced? It follows and says, And your truth even unto the clouds. That is, the knowledge of your truth comes to the preachers. These preachers, through whom the Gospel of God is preached, are the clouds of God. They thunder with threats, rain with words, flash with miracles. Let us hope, then, for mercy, but that mercy which is in heaven.

Thy justice is like the mountains of God. Just as the mercy of God makes men heavens, when it raises them from earthly things to heavenly: and just as the truth of God makes men clouds, when it enlightens them by its wisdom: so divine justice makes men like the mountains of God, when it exalts and strengthens them by virtues and good works. And just as, when the sun rises, it first clothes the mountains with light, and thence the light comes to the lowest places of the earth: so when the Lord Jesus Christ came, he first shone upon the height of the Apostles, first illumined the mountains: and thus his light descended to the valley of the earth. And lest anyone should ask why he chose these rather than those, and rejected the others, he immediately added: Thy judgments are a great deep. They are of such depth that they can be searched out by no one. Or by the abyss may be understood the malice of the reprobate.

Whence it is written, The sinner, when he has come into the depth of evils, despises. After he had spoken, therefore, of the elect, he immediately added concerning the reprobate, saying, Thy judgments are a great deep. As if he said: As mercy and truth and justice save the just, so thy judgments condemn the reprobate: who are therefore called a great deep, because they are darkened by manifold iniquity. And because he had first said that divine mercy was in heaven, now he shows that it also came to earth. For he says: Men and beasts thou wilt preserve, O Lord: O how thou hast multiplied thy mercy, O God. For the merciful Lord so multiplied his mercy that he saved not only rational men, but even the brutish and the unlearned. For where sin abounded, grace did more abound. But the children of men, that is, the whole Church continued even to the end of the world, shall put their trust under the covert of thy wings.

That is, in the protection of the two precepts, namely of love of God and of neighbor. Whoever is not protected under these wings shall be burned by the heats of vices. Or, because he first says men, and afterward children of men, we may understand by men the ancient fathers, who indeed did not have the law, but were themselves a law unto themselves: and understood and did the Lord's precepts reasonably. For when the Gentiles, who have not the law, do by nature the things that are of the law, these, having not the law, are a law to themselves: who show the work of the law written in their hearts, their conscience bearing them witness. These indeed were saved by the mercy of God, just as we also, who are the children of men, namely of the prophets and Apostles: belonging to the Son of Man, the Savior Christ: who have been nourished under the law, regenerated by grace unto the hope of eternal life.

Which grace indeed is commended to us, when it is further added: They shall be inebriated with the plenty of thy house: and thou shalt make them drink of the torrent of thy pleasure. The grace of God poured out in our hearts by the Holy Spirit, who has been given to us, this is the plenty of the house of God. With this plenty are inebriated those who are so filled with the love of almighty God that, their mind being changed, they seem strangers to themselves. This is rightly called the torrent of pleasure, because it comes with great force, and is drunk with great sweetness and delight by those who thirst for justice. With this the martyrs were made drunk, when they went joyfully to death, despising torments, not recognizing their weeping parents. Let us therefore hope under the covert of the wings of God, that we may deserve to be inebriated with his sweetness.

For with thee is the fountain of life: and in thy light we shall see light. Who is the fountain of life, but Christ? He came in the flesh, gave dew to the thirsting, satisfied the hoping. Here fountain is one thing, light another: there it is not so. For what is fountain is also light. And call it whatever you wish: because it is not what you call it. Because you cannot find a fitting name, let it not remain in one name. He is a fountain because he satisfies the thirsty. Light, because he illumines the blind. In this light we see light, because, illumined by Christ, we see wisdom, justice, charity. Or in this light we see light, as he himself says, He who sees me sees also the Father. And that this may come to pass, do what follows: Extend thy mercy to them that know thee, and thy justice to them that are right in heart.

It is first to know God through faith, then to have a right heart: that is, to will what God wills. To those who know him God extends his mercy, when to those believing in him he first grants the remission of sins. Then, when they have begun to have a right heart, so that they too will what God wills: thus they obtain the justice of God, so that from sinners they are made just. But now let them beware, lest they grow proud. Whence one must pray and say: Let not the foot of pride come to me: and let not the hand of the sinner move me. He feared the root of sin and the head of sin, who said this. Justice was not lacking to the first Adam, but the foot of pride came to him. And the hand of the sinner, that is, the temptation of the devil, moved him. By pride, then, we fell, so that we came to this mortality. Pride casts down: humility raises up.

Guard, therefore, what is within, namely your foot, your lowliness: and you will not fear outwardly that the hand of the sinner may move you. Why is this said against pride? Because. There are they fallen who work iniquity: they are cast out, and could not stand. Those who are now unjust first fell through pride. First he, who stood not in the truth: then through him those whom God dismissed from paradise. Therefore, when the Lord made the Church wary, he said: She shall watch thy head, and thou her heel. The serpent watches, that the foot of pride may come to you, that your affection may be moved from God, and thus he may cast you down. But do you watch his head, the beginning of all sin, pride. The first origin of sinning is the will falling away from the highest good, and this is the foot of pride. From it proceed two vices, namely ignorance of things to be done, and concupiscence of harmful things. Then two others are derived: that is, fear and love.

From these, indeed, the whole crop of evils is generated. With utmost effort, therefore, one must beware lest the foot, that is, our affection, be moved from the highest good, lest it slip through pride: and thus fall into the hands of the sinner, and be excluded from blessedness. In as much as each one loves God less, so much does his foot slip toward sinning. And in as much as he loves God more, so much the more firmly does he stand, and so much the less does it delight him to sin.

Be not emulous (he says) of evildoers. Evildoers are so called as if nourishing an evil fire, that is, concupiscence. Whence it is written, He who loves iniquity hates his own soul. And again, Whosoever will be a friend of this world becomes an enemy of God. These are the evildoers, who work evil in themselves: hating God and their own souls, and loving sin. To emulate has various senses. For sometimes it is used for to love, as the Apostle says, For I am jealous of you with the jealousy of God. Sometimes for to imitate, as again he says, Be emulous of the better gifts. Sometimes for to envy, as in this place. Every faithful and imperfect soul is therefore admonished not to wish to be emulous, that is, to envy those who delight in evil: nor to be zealous, that is, to persecute, those who work iniquity. And this is what follows: Nor be thou emulous of them that do iniquity.

For in two ways is the weak mind of the elect stirred against the reprobate: either when it envies their good fortune, or when it is angry at their iniquity. Do not this, but be of even mind. For brief is both their happiness and their iniquity.

For they shall shortly wither away as grass. For a time they rejoice and flourish, but quickly they are dried up, and reduced to dust. And as the greens, that is, the greenness of the herbs, quickly fall away. Whence Isaiah says, All flesh is grass, and all its glory as the flower of grass. The grass is withered, and the flower has fallen. First he plucks out depravity: then he commends good conduct, when he adds: Trust in the Lord, and do good. For hope without good work is not useful. Nor is any good work without charity. Whence it is immediately added, And dwell in the land, and thou shalt be fed with its riches. The land of the Lord is the Church. It the husbandman cultivates, it he waters, the father of many, who exercise good works: but those who do not dwell in the land do not belong to the husbandman. To dwell in the land is to live spiritually and harmoniously within the holy Church. This no one can do, save him who has charity.

This is the riches of this land. God is charity. The Church seeks no other riches but her God: whence also she sang, Thou art my portion. Delight, then, O soul, in thy riches. For it is for this that men seek riches, that they may delight in them: and therefore it is added:

Delight in the Lord. With what fruit? It follows, and says: And he will give thee the requests of thy heart. Some requests are of the flesh, others of the heart. Those are bodily, these spiritual. Delight in God does not ask what the flesh wills, but what the spirit wills. What else does the heart of one delighting in God ask, but God himself, that light itself, that wisdom itself, that eternity itself? This God promises to those who delight in him. Hence it is written, What eye has not seen, nor ear heard, nor has it entered into the heart of man, these things God has prepared for those who love him. This is the request of our heart. This is the reward of him who delights in the Lord. And because someone might say, I cannot delight, or hope, in the Lord: because I have many sins: against this he gives salutary counsel, when he adds:

Reveal thy way to the Lord. Declare thy sins. Accuse, and correct thyself. And trust in him, and he will do it. For he promises hope to sinners, and grants pardon to those doing penance. O how salutary the commands, not to envy the evil, not to love iniquity, to hope in the Lord, to delight in the Lord, to confess to the Lord our ways and works! If you do this, he himself will do it. What?

And he will bring forth thy justice as the light. That it may never be obscured in darkness and vices. Thy justice is thy faith. For the just man lives by faith. This justice is now hidden. It is a matter of faith, not yet of vision. You believe one thing, in order to do it, you do not yet see what you believe. But when you begin to see what you believed, thy justice shall be brought forth into the light. And thy judgment as the noonday. It was too little to say as the light. For there is light, when it grows white, when the sun rises: but light is never clearer than at midday. Now you judge that you should follow Christ, this you have proposed, this you have chosen. Thy judgment is in hiding, still it is reproached and mocked by unbelievers. When will he bring it forth as the noonday? When Christ shall appear, who is our life, then you also shall appear with him in glory. Meanwhile what?

Be subject to the Lord, and pray to him. Let this be our life, to obey his precepts, and to beseech him. Let good work and prayer persevere, until he gives what he has promised. If you see the wicked man flourish, let not vanity move you. Be not emulous of him who prospers in his way, and of the man that does unjust things. He prospers in his way? Do you labor in the way of God. For him prosperity is in the way, unhappiness in the arrival. For you labor is in the way, happiness in the arrival. That way is broad, its end leads into the depth of hell: your way is narrow, its end is eternal life. I say, be not emulous. And if in any way you have been moved, either in mind or in body, correct it. And this is what he adds:

Cease from anger, and forsake wrath: be not emulous, so as to do evil. Anger pertains to the soul, wrath to the body. As if he were saying, Let neither the iniquity of the wicked move you to anger, nor their prosperity to envy. For those who do evil shall be exterminated. That is, they shall be cast out beyond the boundaries of the heavenly Jerusalem, as it is written, Let the wicked man be taken away, that he may not see the glory of God.

But they that wait upon the Lord shall inherit the land. Who are they that wait, but the patient? Hence the Lord says to His disciples, You are they who have continued with me in my temptations. Against which it is written, Woe to those who have lost patience. But the land is the heavenly homeland, of which it is said elsewhere, I believe to see the good things of the Lord in the land of the living. This land they that wait upon the Lord shall inherit, that is, shall possess by right of inheritance. And lest you should think this waiting exceedingly long, he immediately added:

And yet a little while, and the sinner shall not be. That is, he shall not appear. Short is the life and felicity of the wicked. And though it seem long while they live, it seems short when they die. Times pass quickly: that is short which cannot endure. Hence the Apostle says, What is your life? A vapor of smoke appearing for a little while. But it is very much to be noted what follows: And you shall seek his place, and shall not find it. Now seek the place of the sinner, and you find it. His place is his use. For the sinner has some use. Here God uses him to prove the just, as He used the devil to prove Job; as He used Judas, to betray Christ. There is, then, in this life something that is done concerning the sinner. This is his place. As chaff is in the goldsmith’s furnace, and the chaff burns, that the gold may be purified: so the wicked man rages, that the just man may be proved.

But when the time of our trial has passed, when there shall be none to be tried, there will be none through whom they may be tried. And then, if you seek their place, you shall not find it.

But the meek shall inherit the land. The meek are those who do not resist the Lord, who bear His yoke humbly, who endure the adversities of the world with equanimity, not rendering evil for evil, or curse for curse, but on the contrary blessing. These shall be fit to inherit that holy land, Jerusalem, which shall be freed from this pilgrimage and shall live forever with God and from God. And they shall delight in abundance of peace. For they shall enjoy the eternal God, who is the fountain and fullness of all good things. Hence that supernal city is called Jerusalem, which is interpreted “vision of peace.” And so great is the good of peace, that among earthly things nothing is wont to be heard more gladly, nothing desired more eagerly, nothing, finally, can be found better. In all things, moreover, a certain peace and order of nature is sought. Peace of all things is the tranquility of order. Order is the disposition which assigns to things equal and unequal each its own place.

Peace of the household is the ordered concord of those dwelling together in commanding and obeying. Peace of the rational soul is the ordered agreement of knowledge and action. Peace of soul and body is the ordered life and health of the living being. Peace of mortal man and God is ordered obedience in faith, under the eternal law. In these things the meek man of God ought to nourish himself, that he may be able to arrive at the heavenly peace. But the peace of the heavenly city is the most ordered and most harmonious society of enjoying God, and one another in God. And because as long as one lives here, the just suffer the snares of the unjust, it is added:

The sinner shall watch the just man. For the wicked do not cease to search out the life of the good, diligently observing whether in any way they may be able to harm them. Hence it is written of the Lord, And they watched him. So the wicked man watches the good man, that he may seize and destroy him. And what he cannot accomplish by deeds, he carries out by the savage and beastly gnawing of words. And this is what follows: And he shall gnash upon him with his teeth. That is, with the teeth of wickedness and impiety, with which he strives to devour him. Often, moreover, the affections of the mind are designated through the movements of the body.

But the Lord shall laugh at him: for he foresees that his day is coming. He has the eyes of knowledge. He foreknew that the day of judgment would come, in which hidden things shall be made manifest. There the sinner, worthy of derision, shall be shown by the Lord, when, power lost, he shall be handed over from glory to be punished with eternal pains. Here also they already begin to be derided, when the sword of warfare, with which they think to harm others, they themselves unknowingly turn against themselves.

The sinners have drawn out the sword, they have bent their bow. By the sword we understand open and manifest persecution. By the bow, indeed, hidden and deceitful trickery, by which they lay snares for the saints. To draw the sword is to carry out in deed the malice previously hidden in the heart. He bends the bow who prepares a trick by which to strike the unwary. With the sword a man strikes at close range, with the bow he draws from afar. The sword, then, that strikes is persecution pressing on; the bow, indeed, is unexpected and, as it were, distant deception. By these two kinds of persecution the wicked attack the good: namely, To deceive the poor and needy, to slay the upright of heart. By the name of the poor and needy are designated the simple who have not knowledge and virtue. By the upright of heart we understand the perfect. The simple, then, they attempt to deceive secretly with the bow; the perfect, indeed, they strive to slay openly with the sword of persecution.

The enemies of the Church, blinded by whatever error, or depraved by malice, if they receive power to afflict bodily, they exercise its patience. And in that they are even loved as enemies, they exercise its benevolence. Because God works all things together for good to those who love him. But what the enemy opposes turns to his own detriment. And so it is added:

Let their sword enter into their own hearts, and let their bow be broken. They wished to kill in the body, they die in the soul. Whoever tries to injure another first strikes himself with his own dart. But the bow is broken when the trickery and evil will does not come to effect. It is agreed that the wicked injure themselves more than they seem to injure others. For it is more grievous for the soul to be killed by vice, than for the body to be slain by the sword. Then he commends the smallness of the just, saying:

Better is a little to the just man above the great riches of sinners. For better is the poverty of the just than the riches of sinners. For the one abounds with little, but the other, though full, is thirsty. The one saves his soul, the other loses both body and soul. But what does it profit a man, if he gain the whole world, and suffer the loss of his own soul? For better for this one is the faith which is compared to a grain of mustard seed, than for that one the faithlessness which wanders everywhere.

For the arms of sinners shall be broken. That is, the strength, power, and riches in which they trust. But the Lord confirms the just, lest they be overcome by injustice. For as the Apostle says, Tribulation works patience, patience proof, proof hope, and hope does not disappoint: because the charity of God is poured forth in our hearts through the Holy Spirit who is given to us. Hear the voices of the confirmed just man: Who shall separate us from the charity of Christ? Tribulation, or distress, or persecution, or famine, or nakedness, or peril, or the sword? How does he confirm? It follows and says:

The Lord knows the days of the blameless. For He knows how they have lived, and in what state they have ended their life. Or He knows because He has loved. Whence, on the contrary, He is about to say to the wicked, Amen I say to you, I know you not. For everyone who does not know shall be unknown: and therefore Their inheritance shall be forever. Be, then, pure and clean all the days of your life, that you may please the Lord your God in all your conduct. And when you have finished these days, you shall inherit forever.

They shall not be confounded in the evil time, and in the days of famine they shall be satisfied. Now is the evil time, in which the just labor. Whence daily they say in prayer, Deliver us from evil. In this time all the proud, while they seek their own glory, if injuries or insults have been inflicted upon them, blush with shame. But on the contrary, holy men who seek not their own glory but God's, if they are mocked, if they are dishonored with insults and punishments, not only do not blush, but even glory in it. Whence the Apostle says, We glory in tribulations. But they are satisfied in the days of famine, from the pasture of truth, and the heavenly sacraments. For in this famine, where the saints of the Lord hunger, meanwhile they take His word as food, lest they faint on the way, until they are satisfied by the vision of Him in the homeland.

And because he had said above, The arms of sinners shall be broken, he proves this when it is added:

Because the sinners shall perish. How? It follows and says, But the enemies of the Lord, that is, the sinners themselves: As soon as they shall be honored, held in reverence, And exalted, through powers and dignities, Failing daily from bad to worse, shall fail like smoke. Smoke, bursting forth in a lofty place from the fire, is raised on high, and by its very rising swells into a great mass. And the greater it becomes, the more insubstantial it grows. So the wicked, the more they are raised up, the more extended, the more diffused on every side into greater expanse, the more they become thin, and failing, and disappearing. Thus in many ways it has been shown that the smallness of the just man is better than the riches of sinners. Then he gives the reason why the sinner fails, when it is added:

The sinner shall borrow, and shall not repay. Man has nothing which he did not receive on loan. Whence in the Gospel the Lord says, A certain man, going into a far country, called his servants and delivered to them his goods. And to one he gave five talents, to another two, and to another one. Behold, the servants received the Lord's money on loan. And whoever shall have faithfully dispensed it in this age, and shall be able to repay it with interest to the Lord on His return, to him this shall be said by the Lord: Well done, good and faithful servant, enter into the joy of your Lord. The rich dispense faithfully, when they make alms from their riches. Teachers dispense faithfully, when they teach rightly and live well. But sinners, having borrowed riches and wisdom, virtues and understanding from the Lord, neither give thanks to Him, nor distribute to the poor what they have, nor repay by living well what they owe. And therefore they shall fail like smoke.

But the just man shows mercy, that is, he is moved by pious affection toward the afflicted: And he shall give in return. He who has a heart full of charity always has something to give. This very charity is called also good will. If he has outward means, charity itself gives it. If he has not, he gives benevolence, offers counsel, gives help if he can. If he cannot, he assists either by wish, or prays for the afflicted: and perhaps this avails more than if he offered bread. Good will cannot be idle. The poor themselves furnish one another from good will. You see a blind man led by one who sees, because he has no coins to give; he lends his eyes to one who does not have them. From whence has this come about, but because good will is the virtue that is the treasury of the poor? But whoever shows mercy and gives shall receive a good reward. For it follows:

Because those who bless him shall inherit the earth. Those who live well, and share with others in thanksgiving the good things they can, are the ones who bless the Lord. To such he will say in judgment, Come, blessed of my Father, receive the kingdom prepared for you from the foundation of the world. Behold that land which the just shall inherit. Why? Because, he says, I was hungry, and you gave me to eat. And he will begin to recount the works of mercy by which the just blessed the Lord, when they fulfilled them in honor of him. But those who curse him shall perish. For they shall hear, Depart, cursed, into everlasting fire. These refused to pay back what they had received on loan. And because by living wickedly, and by unjustly withholding what was entrusted to them, they cursed the Lord, they themselves are justly cursed. And so that each one may know where he ought to strive, lest he perish likewise, there follows, and it says:

By the Lord the steps of a man shall be directed, and he shall approve his way. For man finds nothing in himself but error and sin. Therefore the Lord himself has become for us a guide and a way. And if we do not wish to err, let us direct the steps of our good works by him. And let our will be in him, who is the way, the truth, and the life. Do not wish to go by any other way than that by which he himself went. Perhaps it seems hard, but it is safe. Another way perhaps has delights, but is full of robbers. It is better now to wish to hold the way of the Lord, by fasting, praying, enduring, so that afterward we may rejoice in our homeland, than to wish to hold the way of the world, by laughing, delighting, following the flesh, so that afterward we may mourn in eternal punishment.

And because even on this way of the Lord there is no man who does not sin, a consolation follows, when it is added:

When he shall fall, he shall not be bruised: for the Lord puts his hand under him. Peter fell, but he was not bruised. For the Lord put his hand under him, and lifted him up by the help of his mercy. For it is written, The Lord looked upon Peter, and he wept bitterly. But why? The Lord permitted his elect one to fall, so that in temptation he might learn to know himself, who before the temptation had presumed of himself. This the Lord does not cease to do daily among his elect. A man would believe himself of great strength, if he always remained fixed in virtue. Therefore the Lord piously sometimes withdraws his grace, and shows to the one who presumes, how he grows weak. And when he slips in temptation, he is prudently instructed by that very temptation. For when, having been tempted, he falls, the more humbly, the more truly does he rise afterward.

And whence virtue seems as if lost, thence it is more surely possessed; moreover he proves that the just man is not bruised, when he adds:

I have been young, and now am old: and I have not seen the just forsaken, nor his seed seeking bread. Here the body of Christ speaks as one man, who was younger in the earliest ages, but older in the most recent times: and in so great a span he has not seen the just man forsaken, so that he did not perish, nor his seed—that is, any faithful one called by his invitation—seeking bread. If we take this as bodily bread, we find that many even of the just seek it. And then the statement would not be true according to the letter. It is necessary, therefore, to understand spiritual bread, namely that of which the Lord says in the Gospel, Man does not live by bread alone, but by every word that proceeds from the mouth of God. This bread the Lord has not ceased to distribute to his faithful, both in the earliest ages and in the last: speaking to them through angels, through patriarchs, through prophets.

Then through his Son, through the Apostles, through teachers: to refresh and confirm their hearts, lest they fail on the way. By such bread the just man is nourished, that he may live in God, and bestow on his neighbors the good things he can. Whence it is also added:

All the day he is merciful, and lends. This has already been expounded. He rightly said, He lends, because what he dispenses he expects to be repaid to him, not by the poor man, but by God. Whence he immediately adds: And his seed shall be in blessing. The seed of the just are good works, of which the Apostle says, But in doing good let us not fail, for in due time we shall reap. Therefore while we have time, he says, let us work good toward all. And again, He who sows sparingly shall also reap sparingly; and he who sows in blessings shall also reap of blessings. Hence it is said elsewhere: Going they went and wept, casting their seeds. We have heard of the seed: let us hear of the future blessing of this seed. But coming they shall come with exultation, carrying their sheaves. See therefore what follows, and do not be slothful.

Decline from evil, and do good. Turn away from sin, flee the devil, follow the good, And dwell forever. Where? In the Church, in unity, in truth, in God, in right judgment.

For the Lord loves judgment—that is, the discernment by which good is separated from evil, the false from the true, the temporal from the eternal. And he will not forsake his saints, whom he scourges for a time. They shall be preserved forever. I, says the Lord, rebuke and chastise those whom I love. Hence Paul says: All discipline for the present indeed does not seem to be of joy, but of grief: but afterward it will yield to those exercised by it the most peaceable fruit of righteousness. Therefore holy men are scourged for a time, and are threshed like grains on the threshing floor among the chaff: so that afterward, purged, they may be kept in the eternal barn. But the unjust shall be punished—that is, condemned eternally. And the seed of the impious shall perish—that is, their work shall have no fruit. Therefore they shall say in judgment: What has pride profited us? Or what has the boasting of riches brought us? All those things have passed away like a shadow.

This prophetic Scripture surrounds our weakness on every side. Now it instructs us with words, now it forms us by examples. On one side it sets before us the punishment of the reprobate, on the other the glory of the just: so that the one may terrify us and restrain us from love of this age, and the other may rouse us and invite us to love of the heavenly homeland. Whence it is also added:

But the just shall inherit the land, of the living. And this not for a time, but forever. Therefore he adds: And they shall dwell upon it forever. He rightly says, "upon": because they will be possessors and lords of that land. Do not, therefore, love this transitory inheritance, in which you cannot long dwell. All things that pass away are to be despised: that alone is to be loved which cannot pass away: whose way is wisdom, of which it is added:

The mouth of the just shall meditate wisdom. The mouth of the inner man is our heart. For just as we speak to men with the mouth of the body, so we speak to God with the heart. Now all spiritual progress proceeds from meditation: and that is the bread of which we spoke above. See, then, how gladly the just man eats, how he turns over and ruminates wisdom in his heart: so that afterward he may be able to belch forth a good word: whence he also adds, And his tongue shall speak judgment. To speak judgment is to utter a discerning speech. First the just man weighs in his heart what he ought to say and what to keep silent: and when he is silent about what should be kept silent, and says what should be said, his tongue speaks judgment. Moreover he shows that this wisdom which the just man meditates is not worldly but divine, when he adds:

The law of his God is in his heart. The reprobate too sometimes have the law of God, but only on the lips, not in the heart. They utter the words of God, yet do not love them: they exalt them in praising, they trample them in living. On the contrary the just man, because he both loves the word of God by meditating on it, and fulfills it by loving it, it is rightly said, The law of his God is in his heart. And what does it profit him? There follows, and it says: And his steps shall not be supplanted. The word of God in the heart delivers from every temptation: whence it is said elsewhere: In my heart I have hidden your words, that I might not sin against you. He is with you, whose word does not depart from you. But what evil does he suffer whom God guards? For see what follows:

The sinner watches the just man. To supplant him, and to twist his steps. He says what was foretold in the book of Wisdom, Even to see him is grievous to us, for his life is unlike that of others. And therefore he seeks to put him to death. The wicked man seeks to kill the good man in two ways. First, that he might consent, and thus kill him in the soul. Then, if he does not consent, he seeks to kill him in the body. But what follows?

But the Lord will not leave him in his hands. The Lord would abandon his just one into the hands of the wicked, if he made him consent with the wicked. But he does not there abandon his just one, but leads out the unconquered soul from the captured flesh. And though he is scourged and slain outwardly, yet he is always guarded inwardly. Nor will he condemn him when he shall be judged. That is, when judgment shall be made concerning him. For we shall all stand before the judgment seat of Christ, that each may there receive what he has done through the body, whether good or evil. When, then, that judgment shall have come, and the Lord shall have heard the case of his just one: he will not then condemn, even though now he may seem to be condemned by man.

Wait therefore for the Lord, who will avenge you, as the Apostle testifies, who says: Vengeance is mine, and I will repay, says the Lord. And keep his way. That is, keep his commandments. And he will exalt you. From vices to virtues, from earthly things to heavenly. That you may inherit the land. That land, namely, which no one will be able to take from you. When sinners shall perish, you shall see. But what glory will it be for the just man that he shall see the sinner perish? Now when he sees someone erring and perishing, does he not usually grieve and groan out of compassion? But then, joined to the righteousness of his Author, he will be bound by such uprightness that he will be moved by no compassion toward the reprobate. The just, therefore, will see the punishments of sinners, and rejoice, because they will not be such.

In this matter it must be known that Almighty God would never have created those whom he foreknew would perish forever, had he not foreseen some good uses to come from them. For their iniquity, just as it now benefits the good toward the increase of holiness, so their punishment will likewise benefit the same just ones toward the increase of blessedness. For from the damnation of the reprobate the elect will know what they have deserved through justice: because from their own salvation they will perceive what they have received through grace. And they will cling to the divine goodness with love the more ardent, the more, by his free gift and not through merit, they will feel no punishment, and will receive unmerited glory. Then he shows how there is no prosperity at all for the impious, when he adds:

I saw the wicked man greatly exalted and lifted up like the cedars of Lebanon. And I passed by, and behold he was not: I sought him, and his place was not found. The wicked man seems exalted on high and lifted up like the Cedar of Lebanon, when, swelling in heart, and surpassing even the lofty ones of the world in power and glory, he is seen to be lifted up. But if you pass over in mind, and diligently consider what is to come, you will see with the eyes of faith that the glory or power of the wicked man is nothing, even when it seems to be something. His place also is not found, when the state of the present life is reckoned as nothing. And indeed this happens without ceasing. For now we see some flourishing in honors and riches, and behold, as it were in a passing moment, we see the same men perish. Whence we also say: Where is he? Where is such great glory? Such great riches? Such great power?

And we groan, saying: Alas, how man is nothing! But it belongs to the imperfect to despise the glory of one about to die only at the moment of death itself: and then even those disparage it who loved and pursued it even up to death. These would indeed act more rightly if, when they saw a man in glory, they then, thinking of his destruction, perceived that his passing power was nothing. Then human elation is to be weighed as to how nothing it is, when it exalts itself above others through success.

Keep innocence, and behold equity, for there are remains for the peaceable man. True innocence is that which harms neither itself nor another. This is the treasure of the soul, which the enemy always strives to take away. Whence also he persuades men to seek earthly things, to love present glory, to serve the pleasures of the flesh. By equity are meant the divine sayings. According to what is written: What you would not have done to yourself, do not do to others. And whatever you wish that men should do to you, do also to them. These are equity, because they proclaim that good is repaid to the good, and evil to the evil. To keep innocence is to preserve oneself unstained from vices and sins. He beholds equity, who carefully weighs both what he has received from the Lord, and what he owes to Him in return. Whoever does this is the peaceable man: whose remains shall be incorruption, immortality, eternal life.

But the unjust shall perish together. Because they shall be destroyed in body and soul. Together the remains of the wicked shall perish. As it is said elsewhere in the psalm: When a man shall be rich, and when the glory of his house shall be multiplied, when he shall enter in, he shall not take it with him, and so on. The remains of the wicked shall therefore enter in, because their riches, which they loved, shall then be no more.

But the salvation of the just is from the Lord. The first salvation, which pertains to the soul, which the just receive from the Lord, is the remission of sins through the grace of faith. Whence also they are just, because the just man lives by faith. But because this salvation is not yet perfect, and the just man is still endangered in tribulations, it is rightly added: And He is their protector in the time of tribulation. For unless divine power protected His faithful, who could bear so many darts of temptations, or such great heats of vices?

And the Lord will help them. To fight, to do good. And He will free them. From tribulations. And He will deliver them from sinners, when He shall lead them out of this life. And He will save them, with everlasting salvation. Because, They have hoped in Him. Consider, O soldier of Christ, how much your commander does for you. He Himself is your salvation, your protection, your arms, your deliverance: that He may rule and guard you here, and afterward lead you to eternal life.

A psalm of David, in remembrance of the sabbath. This psalm suits David the prophet, or any other penitent, in remembrance of the eternal rest. For thus sabbath is interpreted, that is, rest. The subject matter of this psalm is a penitent afflicted with many miseries and many sorrows for his sins. In the exordium he seeks to gain the goodwill of the Judge. In the second part he narrates his misery and excessive chastisement, where he says, I have become miserable. In the third part he shows that he never forsook God amid so many evils, but always hoped in Him, and was prepared to suffer still graver things. In the conclusion he sets forth a kind of exultation over the pardon obtained. He intends to admonish us, not that we should understand (as he did in the other penitential psalm), but that we should now patiently endure whatever evils befall us for the purging of our sins, saying:

Lord, rebuke me not in Your fury, neither chastise me in Your wrath. By fury is designated the vehement indignation of the Lord, by which the reprobate are rebuked in judgment. Whence in His fury He is going to say to them (though first terribly rebuking them concerning the good works which they neglected to do): Depart, accursed ones, into everlasting fire. In fury shall those be rebuked who are not now softened to penitence in the time of mercy. By wrath can be understood the trial of Purgatory fire, in which those are chastised who now build unfruitful things upon the foundation Christ. They shall indeed suffer loss, but they shall be saved: yet so as by fire. But that fire will be graver than whatever man can endure in this life. From this wrath and fury, then, this penitent prays that he may be kept safe, pleading the many miseries with which he is already afflicted in this world, saying:

For Your arrows are fastened in me, and You have confirmed Your hand upon me. We are pierced, as it were, by the arrows of the Lord, when we are wounded by pains of body and soul from the Lord on account of sin. For the human soul is punished in that very thing in which it took delight. But the Lord confirms His hand upon us, because the penalty of sin, with which He struck the first man, still endures in the human race. To such a degree has He confirmed His hand upon us, that He did not even spare His own Son. The first virtue indeed is, not to commit sins, to avoid sins. The second, at least to correct sins once committed. But for the most part we not only fail to avoid imminent faults, but we do not even recognize those already committed. And the sinner's mind grows dark all the more, the less it understands the loss caused by its own blindness.

Whence it often happens, by the bounty of the divine gift, that punishment follows fault, and scourges open the eyes of the offender, which security amid vices had blinded. For the sluggish mind is touched by a blow, that it may be aroused: so that he who, secure, lost the state of his own uprightness, being afflicted, may consider where he lies. The very harshness of correction becomes the origin of light. Whence it is also added:

There is no health in my flesh because of Your wrath. For we bear a mortal body, full of temptations and anxieties, subject to bodily pains and needs, changeable and languishing, in need of remedy. For the remedy of hunger is food; the remedy of thirst is drink; the remedy of fatigue is sleep. Take away these remedies, and those things which exist fail. But whence do we suffer these things? We behold the face of the wrath of God: and it is called face on account of recognition, because we are accustomed to recognize men by the face. But through recognition of the wrath of God comes also recognition of sin. And therefore he adds: There is no peace in my bones because of my sins. By bones are understood the strong powers of the soul. Behold, because of our sins, which are the cause of God's wrath, we suffer many things in the members of the body, many in the powers of the soul.

In the body man has lost health, in the soul he has lost peace. For because he was unwilling to be in concord with his Maker, he justly found discord also within himself. He had great peace with God, when in eternal light he clung unceasingly without any contradiction of trouble. But after by sinning he merited the wrath of God, soon miserably falling from that blessed immutability, and incurring the penalty of mortality and mutability, he lost peace, as we have said. Behold, just as bones support the flesh: so prudence, temperance, fortitude, and justice sustain the mind. But now sloth creeps upon that same mind, and prudence grows cold: for when it is weary and grows torpid, it does not foresee what is to come. Now delight creeps upon the mind, and temperance grows cold: for insofar as we are drawn to the delight of earthly things, so far are we the less restrained from unlawful things.

Sometimes fear insinuates itself into the heart, and disturbs the powers of our fortitude: and we are the less able against adversities, the more immoderately we dread to lose certain beloved things. Sometimes indeed self-love steals into the mind, and by a hidden delay turns it away from the uprightness of justice, and insofar as it neglects to render itself wholly to its Maker, so far it contradicts by right the justice within itself. Foolishness also disturbs the wisdom of the soul, dullness disturbs the understanding, precipitation disturbs counsel, fear disturbs fortitude, ignorance disturbs knowledge, pride disturbs fear. Again in the heart, through scourges charity is disturbed, through dread hope is shaken, through questionings faith is assailed. And because in innumerable ways the virtues are disturbed by vices and sins, it is rightly said: There is no peace in my bones because of my sins. Nor is this to be wondered at,

For my iniquities have risen above my head. That is, they have prevailed over my mind, which is the head of the inner man. These are they which take the mind captive in the law of sin and death. And as a heavy burden, they have grown heavy upon me. No burden can be so heavy as iniquity: whose weight only those feel who desire to lay it down. For it does not seem heavy to him who still delights in it. But he who desires to lay it down, and to lift up his mind to heavenly things, feels what a burden iniquity is. It is raised with labor, it lies down willingly; it is lifted with difficulty by the weak, and yet, once lifted, it slips down at once. By laboriously conquering itself, it beholds the things above: but weighed down by its own weight, it continually falls back into itself. Whence he still adds:

My scars have festered and are corrupted because of my foolishness. This is said by way of likeness. For as scars first fester, and afterward the flesh is torn open: so sins healed in baptism fester, when they are renewed in the will. But they are corrupted when we carry them out in deed. And this happens because of our foolishness, that is, on account of the foolishness which is present in us. For the more we play the fool, the nearer we approach to rot and corruption. Hence it is further added: I have become miserable, and am bowed down even to the end. Before I was blessed, now I have become miserable, bearing many miseries both in soul and in body. Before I was upright even unto God, now I am bowed down even to the end, that is, into sin: or even to the end, that is, even unto death. Whence the Apostle, groaning, says: Wretched man that I am, who shall deliver me from the body of this death? All the day I went about sorrowful.

Spiritual joy being lost, this sorrow is generated from the remembrance of the sabbath. The minds of the elect, when they see that all transitory things are nothing, seek that for which they were made: and since nothing outside of God suffices for them, they rest in Him in hope and love. And the more they think upon heavenly things, the more they lament the affliction which they endure. Whence this penitent still adds:

For my loins are filled with illusions, and there is no health in my flesh. Let there be sorrow for us, until both our soul is stripped of illusions, and our body is clothed with health. That is true health which is immortal. He set down loins because in the loins is carnal desire, whence illusions are engendered. But who can enumerate how many, and in how many ways, the soul is filled with illusions? Because of these illusions, one is sometimes scarcely permitted to pray. Often thoughts rush in which we do not seek: and we wish to go from this to that, and to pass from that to this: and sometimes you wish to return to what you were thinking, and to let go what you are thinking, and you cannot, and something else comes to you. You wish to recall what you had forgotten, and it does not come to your mind, but rather something else comes, which you did not want, and instead of it innumerable things occur which were not sought.

I have said this, that you might find what it is to lament the illusions of the soul. Illusion has received punishment, it has lost truth. For as illusion is the punishment of the soul, so truth is the reward of the soul.

I am afflicted and humbled exceedingly: I roared from the groaning of my heart. From affliction comes humiliation, and from humility proceeds groaning. To this end the sinner is afflicted with punishments and scourges, that he may be humbled in every way from his pride: so that he who joyfully and proudly committed sin, afflicted and humbled, may return to lamentation. What he says, I roared from groaning, is a sign of the most vehement grief, when a man, from the anguish of his heart, sends forth from his groan a certain wild and yet intelligible roar. And it must be noted that he does not say, From the groaning of the flesh, but, From the groaning of the heart. For there are many who groan vehemently for some temporal loss or misfortune. But the servant of God, because he roars from remembrance of the sabbath, where is the kingdom of God, which flesh and blood shall not possess, fittingly says, I roared from the groaning of my heart. This is clearly shown when it is added:

Lord, all my desire is before thee, and my groaning is not hidden from thee. Let your desire be toward him, and the Father who sees in secret will repay you. Note, however, that he says, Before thee, as if to say: I desire nothing except what may please thee. For a depraved desire is not before God, but against God. But if a good desire is present, groaning also is present: which, even if it does not always reach the ears of men, never departs from the ears of God: he commends this inward groaning when he adds:

My heart is troubled. Why? Because My strength hath forsaken me. Namely immortality, impassibility, innocence, justice. And the light of my eyes, that is, the light of reason. And this very thing, which was natural to me, is not with me. Or, the light of the eyes is God himself. This light is not with him, but as it were for those who behold in hope. But it is not yet that light of which it is said, I will show myself to him. We have some measure of light, because we are sons of God, and indeed we hold this by faith: but it is not yet that light which we shall see, for it has not yet appeared what we shall be. We know that when he shall appear, we shall be like him, when we shall see him as he is. For now it is the light of faith, and the light of hope. For as long as we are in the body, we are pilgrims from the Lord. For we walk by faith, not by sight.

And as long as we hope for what we do not see, we wait for it with patience. Amid these tribulations, now for our consolation, let us hear the voices of our head. Now let our head begin to shine forth in his passion; he says therefore,

My friends and my neighbors have drawn near against me, and stood. As if he said: Why do you complain? See me afflicted, crucified, bearing your sins, carrying away the miseries of the world, and taking them away. And this is what he says, My friends, that is, the Jews, who feigned themselves my friends, and my neighbors according to the flesh, drew near against me, with swords and clubs (Matth. And 27), to betray me: and stood, persevering rigidly in their malice. It is grievous to sin, but more grievous to persist stubbornly in sin. And it must be noted that he does not say, Enemies, or strangers, but friends and neighbors. Indeed the evils we suffer from friends are graver than those we suffer from enemies. For not only does their punishment torment us, but also lost love torments us. And they that were near me stood afar off. That is, the disciples: for having left him, all fled. And they that sought my soul used violence. Dragging him to judgment and death.

And they that sought evils for me spoke vanities. For they spoke false witness against him. And meditated deceits all the day long. By which they might accuse him before Pilate. But let us now hear the patience of our Redeemer:

But I, as a deaf man, heard not. Whence one of them said: Do you not hear how many things they testify against you? And as a dumb man not opening his mouth: As it is written: He was led as a sheep to the slaughter, and opened not his mouth. And this is said with reference to action. Though he had the power of hearing and speaking, he did not use it for vengeance. But these things pertain to power, when it is added:

And I became as a man that heareth not, That is, not able to hear. And having no reproofs in his mouth. That is, though I had the means whereby I might reprove, yet I was as one who had none. What else is signified in this, but that our pride is confounded? Which, if stirred even slightly, returns sharper injuries than it received: it does the evils it can, and threatens what it cannot. Behold, God, receiving injury, is not angered, does not answer with contumelious words. And as if it were said to him, Why did you not open your mouth? There follows, and he says:

For in thee, O Lord, have I hoped: thou wilt hear me, O Lord my God. Whence they also said: He trusteth in God; let him deliver him now if he will. You easily overcome adversities, if your hope is fixed in God. And if you are troubled for a time, at the fitting time the Lord your God will hear you. But whence will he hear? There follows:

For I said, Lest at any time my enemies rejoice over me. We who are mere men, when we wish to obtain something, humbly beseech the Lord. The mediator of God and men, the man Christ Jesus, because he is God of God, says that it be done, and it is done. He prays when he wills, from the weakness of the flesh; he commands when he wills, from the power of divinity. But what did he say? Lest at any time my enemies rejoice over me, over me overcome. For they would rejoice greatly, if he did not rise again. And whilst my feet were moved, and as it were slipped: in his passion they spoke great things against me. For casting off his yoke, and holding him in contempt, they said proudly: We have no king but Caesar. And they spoke many other things against him. Why?

For I am ready for scourges. Sometimes sinners in this life are either not scourged, or scourged less, because their purpose is already given up as hopeless. But those for whom eternal life is prepared must necessarily be scourged here: because that saying is true, My son, do not despise the discipline of the Lord, nor be wearied when you are rebuked by him. For whom the Lord loves, he chastises, and scourges every son whom he receives. Therefore let not my enemies insult, let them not speak great things. And if my Father scourges me, I am ready for scourges: because an inheritance is being prepared for me. Do you not want the scourge? Then the inheritance is not given to you. For every son must necessarily be scourged. To such a degree is every one scourged, that he did not even spare him who had no sin. And my sorrow is continually before me. Was he grieving over the scourge? Far from it. Whence then? There follows:

For I will declare my iniquity, and I will think for my sin. Behold whence the sorrow. Not from the scourge, not from the wound, not from the medicine: but from sin. For the scourge is a medicine against sin. Do not be secure, when you have confessed your sin. This is not enough, unless afterward you think upon your sin. You have laid open the wound by confessing: the priest, who is the physician of your soul, has given you counsel of medicine: has told you from what to abstain, what to apply to your wound. You must therefore think on your sin, and always keep it in memory, and do what you have heard, take care and give diligence, that you may be healed. He thought upon his sin who said: For I know my iniquity, and my sin is always before me. For he was not yet secure, though he had heard from the prophet, The Lord hath taken away thy sin from thee. But these words are spoken in our own person, who are sinners.

But my enemies live. It is well with them, they rejoice in the happiness of the world, where I labor, I roar from the groaning of my heart. And they are stronger than I, That is, banded and strengthened together to oppress me. And they that hate me wrongfully are multiplied. For many appeared as enemies in the passion, who before seemed to be friends. Because Christ loved them, they hated him wrongfully. For it is a wrongful hatred, to hate a friend. It is a wrongful hatred, to hate the man, not the sin. This is the whole and great guilt of theirs. For what harm could they do by pursuing, with will not with necessity, one who was dying? But the very hatred itself is the greatest crime of the persecutor.

They that render evil for good have detracted me, because I followed goodness. And for no other cause except that I pursued goodness. They ought indeed, for so many benefits, to have rendered good; but not only did they not do so, they even rendered evil for good. Nor did they only harm by deed, but also detracted by word. On this account he prays, and says:

Forsake me not, O Lord my God. That is, do not allow me to fall into temptation. Depart not from me. Do not, by the absence of thy grace, allow me to perish. This is said in our own person.

Attend unto my help. That is, give yourself intent, that you may help me to work well. O Lord, the God of my salvation. My ruler, my Creator, and the author of my salvation.

Unto the end, for Idithun, a Canticle of David himself. The voices of a certain man who is called Idithun are to be waited for and heard. And if each one of us can be Idithun in what he sings, he finds himself, and hears himself. For Idithun is interpreted, Leaping over them. If anyone who leaps over sang, let him rejoice that he is what he sang. If anyone still clinging to the earth sang, let him wish and strive to be what he sang. It is called a Canticle for this reason, that it contains spiritual joy: for it teaches us in mind to leap over from earthly things to heavenly ones. He sends us unto the end, that is, unto Christ. The subject matter is that one who leaps over and is perfect, who, having set aside all worldly pleasure, longs only for heavenly things, and is such a one made perfect by God, that he even restrains his tongue entirely from sin. This he arranges thus in parts.

In the first part he who leaps over shows that he is silent toward the world, that is, toward wicked men, who oppress him, and try to reprove his words, and speak of him. In the second part he compares these worldly things with heavenly ones, showing that these are vain, those to be desired. In the third he sets forth a prayer, that he may be freed from evils, and be able to obtain heavenly things. The intention is, to admonish the just, that having set aside worldly things, they may pass over to heavenly ones.

I said, I will guard my ways, that I do not sin with my tongue. Our ways to the Lord are our actions and our speeches. For by speaking well and acting rightly we advance toward eternal things. And because the holy man had already guarded the ways of wicked action, he also resolved to guard against the unlawful paths of speech. For he who does not offend in word, that man is perfect. Hence Solomon says: He who guards his tongue, guards his soul. I said, he says, and I did. For it follows: I have set a guard upon my mouth. When? When some pious, and religious, and holy man stood before him? Far from it. Such men hear in such a way that what they approve, they praise; but what they disapprove, among the many things they perhaps praise, they grant pardon rather than prepare a false charge for what they do not praise. When then? When the sinner stood against me.

For the proud sinner stands by a certain self-knowledge of his own; any envious person listens to one speaking, leaping upon his words, catching them, setting snares. It is difficult that he should not find something not said as it ought to have been said: nor in hearing does he forgive, but slanders through envy. To such men indeed one ought rather to keep silence than to say anything. For what can you say to the turbulent, the slanderous, the quarrelsome? Hence the Lord says in the Gospel, Do not give what is holy to dogs, nor cast pearls before swine. But how he set a guard upon his mouth, he indicates when he adds:

I was dumb, and was humbled, and kept silence from good things. Rightly, when he had said, I was dumb, he immediately adds, And I was humbled: that we may understand that the just man was struck dumb, not out of anger or indignation, but solely out of humility. He kept silence from good things, that he might not offend in evil ones. And from this, he says, my sorrow was renewed. From a certain sorrow, which the slanderers and reprovers had inflicted upon me, as if I had rested in silence, and that sorrow which had been made by the slanderers had ceased. But my sorrow was renewed, because I began to grieve more that I had kept silent about things I ought to have said, than I had grieved that I had said things I ought not to have said. And therefore:

My heart grew hot within me. My heart began to be disquieted: I saw the senseless, and I pined away. I did not rebuke them, and while I thus kept silent the zeal of thy house consumed me. And lest we should think this heat to be small, he immediately added: And in my meditation a fire shall be kindled. In that he does not say, It burned, but It shall be kindled: he shows that fire to grow more and more from silence. As if he were to say: The longer I keep silence, so much the more shall the fire be kindled. Placed in this fluctuation between speaking and keeping silence, among those who are ready to slander, and those who long to be instructed, in peril lest he cast pearls before swine, in peril lest he fail to give food to his fellow servants: in this heat he sought another better place, and sighing toward a certain end, where he would not suffer these things, he says:

I spoke with my tongue. But why does he speak with his tongue to him whose thought is already known to himself? But perhaps he speaks with his tongue for this reason, that the hearer may be instructed unto life by that speech. He says therefore: Make known to me, O Lord, my end. Because he already knew the paths by which he was walking, and, as far as he was able, guarded the same lest he should offend: he also wishes to know the end toward which he ought to tend, lest, if he should run toward the uncertain, he might go astray. The Apostle shows us the end of our way, when he says: The end of the law is Christ, unto righteousness to every one that believeth. Christ is the end of our work, and the reward of our labor. We tend toward him; beyond him there is nothing toward which we can tend. For he himself is the supreme good, the supreme blessedness. Whoever does not know this end does not tend toward him.

Even if he seems to live rightly, he runs in vain. Nor does he ask to know only the certain end, but also the true life, when he adds: And what is the number of my days, make known to me. Why? That I may know what is lacking to me. These days are not truly “days.” They pass away almost before they come; and when they have come, they cannot stand still. They press upon one another, follow one another, and do not hold themselves fast. Nothing of the past is recalled; that which is future, being about to pass, is awaited: it is not yet possessed, while it has not come; it is not held, once it has come. The number of days that truly is, is that very infinity of eternity, which alone has true being: because it cannot pass away.

Nor is it therefore called a "number of days" because it is really so in itself: but because we designate long spans of time by a plurality of days, according to our capacity; he wished, improperly, to call the infinite span of eternity the number of days that is. Rightly, moreover, he desires to know those things first, that afterward he may know what is lacking to him. For we cannot fully know what is lacking to us in temporal things, unless we first come to know, by the Lord's revealing, the eternal goods which we have lost. For this reason the reprobate cannot perceive what is lacking to them, because they succumb through love to earthly things. And since they do not raise their hearts to what is everlasting, they think exile to be their homeland, darkness to be light, running to be standing still: because those who do not know greater things cannot judge of the least.

Whereas, on the contrary, the servant of God, when he lifts his heart to the things above, weighs better the deficiency of temporality by consideration of what is everlasting. Hence, as if his end and the number of the days that is were now known to him, he turns his attention to these things that pass away, and says:

Behold, thou hast made my days measurable. That is, not eternal, but deficient. For every one lives under a certain measure. And my substance: not the renewal which Christ has made, but the bodily essence, which we have drawn from Adam: as nothing before thee. Some seem great before themselves, of whom it is written: Woe to you who are wise in your own eyes: but before God they are nothing, as the Apostle witnesses, who says: He who thinks himself to be something, when he is nothing, deceives himself. Nor is such a one great for this reason, for swelling and puffing up imitate greatness, but do not possess health. Thus the first man was so given that his life could only be extended through the increase of time, not unfolded. But because of his own will he fell into fault where he touched the forbidden thing, he suffered a downward course. Therefore now this holy man beholds his transitory days, and knows himself to be nothing but dust.

Whence he further adds: Nevertheless, every man living is altogether vanity. Now he has leapt over all mortal things. I have ascended to the delight of the law of God. I have desired the end, of which there is no end, and the number of days that truly is, and in what remains I long thus. Nevertheless, as long as I live in time, as long as the life of man upon earth is a trial, as long as human nature, both in body and soul, is subject to failing beneath itself; Every man living is altogether vanity. For all things that are in man, both inward and outward, have diminution, or mutability. All things, I say, both man abiding and man passing away, and Idithun himself too, as long as he lives here, is subject to entire vanity. Whence Solomon says: I saw all things that are done under the sun, and behold, all is vanity. Whence it is further added:

Surely man passeth in an image, but also in vain is he disquieted. Though he bears the image of God, yet he not only passes but passes fully away. His passing is, at each single moment, to tend toward an end. But his passing fully through is to finish life by dying. Nor does he suffer only this, but he is also, for earthly purposes, disquieted in vain. Whence it is further added: He layeth up treasures, and knoweth not for whom he shall gather them. This vanity is even more to be lamented, because when man fell from the love of his Creator, he immediately clung with love and zeal to worldly things, to such a degree that he willingly endures his exile: unwilling to withdraw, and, deprived by blind desire, he gathers treasures: but he does not know for whom he gathers them. Whence it was said to a certain man: Fool, this night they shall take thy soul from thee. Whose shall those things be which thou hast prepared?

Do you want to have what God has, and not lose it? I will show you a safe place. Hear the Lord in the Gospel: Lay up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where neither thieves steal, nor rust nor moth destroys. But then, you say, how do I lay it up in heaven? Lay it up in the hands of the poor: give to the needy. Hear, and do what this man, passing away, adds:

And now, what is my expectation? Is it not the Lord? And because all things here pass away, and nothing is held firm or secure now, that is, in this vanity, in this pilgrimage, while I cannot yet possess: what ought I to do, but wait for God? And turning himself to him whom, waiting, he loves, he says to him in familiar and ancient speech: And my substance is with thee. He has his substance with the Lord, whoever, for God's sake, distributes all that he has: or spends what he retains for his honor: and desires nothing at all besides God. After the contempt of things, he asks for the remission of sins, when he adds:

Deliver me from all my iniquities. From all, I say, both of thought and of speech and of deed. Both from hidden ones and from strangers' ones, both from venial ones and from criminal ones. And because I despise earthly things, because I do not wish to rejoice in transitory things, because I seek humility and poverty, and desire only invisible things, Thou hast made me a reproach to the fool. Whence the Apostle says: We are made a spectacle to the world, and to angels, and to men. We have arms on the right hand and on the left, with which we fight, through glory and dishonor, through evil report and good report, as deceivers and yet true. Hence elsewhere the Psalmist says: We are filled exceedingly with contempt. Our soul is exceedingly filled, reproach by the abounding, and contempt by the proud. Placed amid these reproaches, the holy man reveals his patience to us, when he adds:

I was dumb, and I opened not my mouth. I did not answer them a word, nor murmur against thee. Because he could have been dumb first and then spoken afterward: therefore after he said, I was dumb, he immediately added, And I opened not my mouth: that he might show the long-suffering of his silence. Then he asks for mercy and health, prefixing the reason, when he adds:

Because thou hast done it: remove thy scourges from me. What are these scourges, with which Almighty God has struck sinful man, but corruption, capacity for suffering, and mortality? He desires to be healed from these scourges, and to be brought back to true health, that is, to impassibility and immortality. And thou oughtest, he says, to do this, because thou hast made me, or because thou hast made these scourges, thou oughtest to remove them from me. For just as it is thine to strike the sinner out of justice, so it is thine to spare out of mercy. For thou art not only just, but also merciful. He shows, moreover, that he is vehemently afflicted, when he adds:

By the strength of thy hand I fainted amid rebukes. The strength of God's hand is the very stroke of the scourge. By that very scourging we fainted from the rigor of our pride. His strokes are for us rebukes. For in the very fact that he scourges, he rebukes us: because we have sinned. Whence, commending the Lord's justice and pointing out our guilt, he adds: On account of iniquity thou hast corrected man. All that I have done, that I am weak, that I cry out from the depths, all is because of iniquity: and in this thou hast instructed man. Hear this more plainly from another psalm: It is good for me, O God, that thou hast humbled me, that I may learn thy justifications. I have been humbled, and it is good for me: it is both punishment and grace. Hence it is said elsewhere: Thou who dost fashion labor by precept, that is, thou dost form a labor, that it may be a precept for me. I say, remove it.

And it is needful that thou remove it, because I have fainted, that is, I could not endure, from the strength of thy hand, that is, from thy strong vengeance wrought in rebukes. By saying "in rebukes" he notes that God works his vengeance for this purpose, that he may draw man back from sin. When I speak of thy blows, or thy strong hand, I do not accuse thee: but I confess that I have iniquity, on account of which thou hast corrected me, a man, by thy disciplines. Here is noted the judgment and mercy of God. In this is judgment, that he scourges on account of iniquity. In this is mercy, that by correction, as a father, he chastises, so as to lead back to the way of truth. Whence he further adds: And thou hast made his soul to waste away like a spider. Consider that creature, how it wastes away. Put it upon your finger, it is ruin. Nothing at all is more perishable.

Such hast thou made the human soul, for its instruction on account of iniquity. The instruction of the just God has produced this weakness. A certain strength was a vice, man displeased by a certain strength, that he might be instructed by weakness, and because pride displeased, he is instructed by humility, or by weakness. This verse can be applied both to the good and to the wicked. To the good, in this way: Thou hast so corrected man, that he mortified himself utterly to the world, as a spider mortifies itself in its work. The soul of the just wastes away like a spider, when it fails from the fatness of carnal pleasure, when it macerates the flesh with fasts and vigils, and chastises the mind from unlawful desires: when it strives to mortify itself to vices and concupiscences, and to grow thin in virtues: to weave, so that with the wedding garment it may be worthy to appear before the heavenly Bridegroom.

Or as a spider draws out and consumes its own inward substance to make a useless work: so the sinner vainly expends the inward things of his soul in the pursuit of earthly things. For the avaricious man holds even his own soul for sale. Hence the Lord says in the Gospel: And what does it profit a man if he gain the whole world, but suffer the loss of his own soul? And therefore it is added: Yet in vain is every man troubled. That is, every man who lives carnally, while he strives through cupidity to seek after earthly things, is uselessly troubled. Who is secure even of his own good? What in this earth is certain, except death? Consider all things, whether the good or the evil of this life, whether in justice itself or in iniquity itself: all are uncertain. What you are today you know; what you will be tomorrow, you do not know. Are you poor? It is uncertain whether you will grow rich. Uneducated? It is uncertain whether you will be taught. Weak?

It is uncertain whether you will grow strong. Are you born? It is certain that you will die. Wherever you turn, all things are uncertain. Death alone is certain: and it alone is greatly guarded against, which by no means is avoided. Whoever therefore is troubled, let him cast his care upon the Lord, and say what follows:

Hear my prayer. That thou mayest make known to me my end. And my supplication. That thou mayest rescue me from all iniquities. And thou oughtest to hear, since I entreat thee with affection and tears. And this is what he says: With thy ears perceive my tears. The holier a man is, the more abundant tears he has in prayer: which the benign God perceives with his ears, when he mercifully receives them. If thou wishest to be heard by the Lord: pray with tears, crush thy heart. No greater sacrifice can be offered to God than a contrite and humbled heart. Where there are tears, there the divine fire is kindled. You ask, perhaps, why God should be prayed to, and what need there is of prayer, since he himself knows before we pray what is needful for us. But we must pray for this reason, because the intent of prayer serenes and purges our heart, and makes it more capacious for receiving the divine gifts which are spiritually poured into us.

The gracious Lord offers us his grace, and is always ready to give. But we are not always ready to receive: since we are inclined to earthly things, and held by the desire of temporal things. There occurs, then, in prayer a turning of the heart to God, and in that very turning we are made purer and more worthy. Whence it is further added: Be not silent, for I am a sojourner with thee. For God speaks his secret speech in the hearts of his faithful ones, and pours in the inspiration of his grace. Therefore in another place he asks, saying, Say to my soul, I am thy salvation. And again: I will hear what the Lord God will speak in me. And therefore thou oughtest not to be silent from me: because I am a sojourner, transferred from the city of Babylon, in which I had been born through original sin: abiding with thee, serving thee, and belonging to thy household. Yet I am not yet in thy city.

Therefore he adds: And a pilgrim, as all my fathers were pilgrims. Namely Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, and others. For as long as we are in the body, we are pilgrims from the Lord. For we have not here a lasting city, but we seek one to come in heaven. What then? It remains that I ask, since without doubt I am about to depart. He continues and says:. Forgive me, that I may be refreshed. In my conscience, that it may be unburdened of the heat of anxiety over my sins. Before I depart from this life: And I shall be no more, that is, I will not have true being, if I should depart hence with my sins not first forgiven.

Waiting I waited for the Lord, and he was attentive to me. As if he should say, I so waited for the Lord, that I was daily waiting: and because I persevered, the Lord was attentive to me, that is, for my benefit, namely by bestowing his grace. For he who shall have persevered unto the end, he shall be saved. Whence the Prophet admonishes us, saying, If he shall make delay, wait for him: because coming he will come. But how the Lord was attentive to him, he explains when he adds:

And he heard my prayers. In what did he hear? Hear what follows. And he brought me out of the pit of misery. That is, from a certain depth of error, which makes men wretched. And from the mire of dregs. That is, from the concupiscences of the flesh, which render souls muddy before the Lord, and lying in the depths.

And he set my feet upon a rock, and directed my steps. And he put a new song into my mouth, a hymn to our God. The order of the words is to be noted. For first he is brought out of the mire of depravity, that his feet may be made firm through faith upon the rock. But because right operation ought to follow right faith, his steps were directed, so that after the direction of his steps, that is, the perfection of good work, he might receive in his mouth also the new song of preaching. For while we still lie in the confusion of weakness, the authority of preaching ought not to be granted to us. But when we now rise in good work, when we have now begun to stand upright, it is fitting that we be sent to preach for the gaining of others. It is also very much to be noted, that after he said "song," he immediately added "hymn," that is, a hymn to our God.

For there are some to whom the grace of teaching is given by the Lord, but who strive to turn that same grace back to their own glory. These indeed receive a song in their mouth, but disdain to render a hymn, that is, praise, to the Lord our God for the grace received. But because this holy man received the word of preaching concerning the New Testament, namely concerning the Lord's incarnation, passion, resurrection, ascension, and the other things pertaining to the new life and the new man, and expended all these things unto the praise of almighty God, he rightly testified that not only was a new song put in his mouth, but also a hymn to our God. Be a new man, preach Christ: and thus you have sung a new song. Do not seek your own praise, but praising, call upon the Lord: and thus you have spoken a hymn to our God.

To preach the faith of the Lord, and moreover devoutly to praise him, is to sing a song and a hymn to our God. And because the holy man saw that many would be converted to the faith upon hearing this song and hymn, he therefore immediately added: Many shall see, and shall fear, and shall hope in the Lord. Those who were blind, and understood nothing of God, attending to and imitating the singers of the new song, were enlightened. Those who believe, then, shall see; those who repent shall fear; those who long for heavenly things shall hope. After a man has been enlightened by faith, the first step toward God is fear, as it is written, The fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom. And the more one is humbled in himself through fear, the more he is raised up in God through hope. And raised by hope toward invisible goods, he begins to love heavenly things and to despise earthly ones.

Behold faith, hope, charity, by which God is worshipped and man is made blessed. Whence it is also added:

Blessed is the man whose hope is the name of the Lord. The name of the Lord is Jesus, which is interpreted Savior. Blessed, then, is he who hopes to be saved by Jesus. And has not looked upon vanities and false follies. So as to serve avarice, or to worship idols. For to covet earthly things is to look upon vanities. Whence the Lord says in the Gospel, No one looking back is fit for the kingdom of God. Therefore in another psalm he prays, saying, Turn away my eyes lest they behold vanity. But to worship idols, to adore stones, to serve the creature rather than the Creator, who made all things, who disposes all things by wise counsel, is a great and false folly. Whence, turning himself to the Lord with faith and devotion, so that he may likewise turn to him the hearts of others who look upon vanities and false follies, he says:

Many things hast thou done, O Lord my God, thy wonderful works. For thou hast made heaven and earth and all things that are in them: and these indeed are thine, that is, subject to thee, serving thee. And in thy thoughts, By which thou dost dispose all things, There is none that is like unto thee. For who has known the mind of the Lord? Or who has been his counselor? These wonderful works of thine, both visible and invisible, and thy incomprehensible wisdom, proclaim that thou alone art to be worshipped, thou alone to be loved and sought after: not these vanities and false follies. I have declared, To those not knowing. And I have spoken, To those knowing. For I am debtor both to the wise and to the unwise. Or, I have declared first through the fathers, and lastly I have spoken through myself. They are multiplied beyond number.

For many, having heard the preaching, have come into the fellowship of believers, who are not in the number of the elect, as the Truth bears witness, which says: Many are called, but few are chosen. Beyond the number, then, of those predestined to life, believers have been multiplied. And because at the time when the faith was preached, the old sacrifice also was changed: this is shown, when it is further subjoined:

Sacrifice and oblation thou wouldest not, but ears hast thou perfected me. Behold how the holy man foresaw that sacrifice was to be changed, and that the law was to be understood spiritually. And this was not done in his times, but in ours. He himself, by the revelation of the Holy Spirit, foresaw this. But we, as we have heard, so have we seen in the city of the Lord. Behold, sacrifice and oblation, as was formerly the custom, the Lord willed not. He himself was made for us both priest and sacrifice. He is the true Lamb of God who was slain for us, who taketh away the sins of the world. The shadow has passed, Truth has appeared: old things have passed away, and behold, new things have been made. Moreover he has perfected for us ears, that we may understand spiritually the things we hear from the law. These Christ required, when he said, He that hath ears to hear, let him hear.

He perfected the ears of his Disciples, when he opened their understanding, that they might understand the Scriptures. Or ears are perfected for us by God, when we are made perfect in obeying him in all things. Whence it is written, Obedience is better than sacrifices. That people had ears perfected by the Lord, of whom the Lord elsewhere says through the Psalmist, A people whom I have not known, hath served me: at the hearing of the ear it obeyed me. Burnt-offering and sacrifice for sin thou didst not require. This is the difference between whole-burnt offering and sacrifice: that when some part of the victim was offered to God, it was called a sacrifice. But a whole-burnt offering was wholly burned: namely, when the whole victim was consumed in the sacrifice. But the Lord requires neither the lesser nor the greater sacrifices of the old law, for whom now not the shadow but the truth is pleasing: since he did not require these. What then are those which he did require?

There follows, and he says:

Then said I, Lo, I come. This is the voice of Christ in his own person: Then, that is, at that time when it seemed opportune to me, that the old things should be changed into new: I said, Lo, I come, that is, I deliberated that my coming should take place in manifestation. He draws testimony of this coming from the Scripture, when he adds, turning himself to the Father, and saying: In the head of the book it is written of me, that I should do thy will: O my God, I have willed it: and thy law is in the midst of my heart. In the first psalm of this book it is written, that I should do thy will, that is, that I should fulfill the obedience enjoined upon me by thee. And thus it is written: Thus have I willed, O my God. I came not to do my own will, but the will of him who sent me, the Father. Observe what is written of Christ in the head of this book.

For it is said there, Blessed is the man that hath not walked, and so forth. But here he says, Lo, I come. It is said there: But his will is in the law of the Lord: but here he says, That I should do thy will. It is said there: And in the law of the Lord he shall meditate day and night: but here he says, And thy law is in the midst of my heart. These things are sufficiently equivalent. That which is in the middle does not lean more to one side. He therefore has the law of God in the midst of his heart, who so meditates on and keeps his commandments that he turns aside neither to the right hand nor to the left. He has the law of God in the midst of his heart, who loves the Lord his God with his whole heart, and with his whole soul, and with all his strength, and his neighbor as himself.

Whoever is such, it is indeed right that he should not cease to preach to others the righteousness which he himself possesses. Whence it is also added:

I have declared thy righteousness in the great Church, spread throughout the whole world. I have declared that righteousness does not come from the institutions of the law, but from thee. Lo, I will not restrain my lips. If any should wish to restrain them, I will not be silent. Peter had such lips, so ready for the preaching of righteousness: when he was forbidden by the rulers to speak any more of Jesus, and he himself answered manfully, We ought to obey God rather than men. And because my lips are ready to proclaim the truth, O Lord, thou hast known. For thou art the discerner of the heart, thou the witness of conscience. Whatever our lips speak, God always attends to our heart, and judges us according to it. We ought therefore to show ourselves such, that we may please the Lord our God in heart and lips. With the heart, says the Apostle, man believeth unto righteousness, but with the mouth confession is made unto salvation.

Sound with the lips, be near with the heart, that thou mayest be able to call the Lord as witness of thy heart, saying, O Lord, thou hast known. For this is our glory, the testimony of our conscience. Whence it is also added:

I have not hid thy righteousness within my heart. Unlike that slothful servant, who hid his talent in the earth. Hence the Lord says to his Disciples, All things whatsoever I have heard from my Father, I have made known unto you. Therefore he also commanded the Apostles that they should carry neither a purse. For he carries a purse, who conceals the divine words in his heart. Righteousness in this place is understood as faith. For the just man lives by faith. Abraham believed God, and it was reckoned to him for righteousness. This many have hidden in their heart, out of fear of death. Many still hide the righteousness of God, either fearing punishment, or fearing loss. But those who fear neither punishment nor loss belong to those of whom it is said, Blessed are they that suffer persecution for righteousness' sake, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven. Thy truth and thy salvation I have spoken. That is, I have preached Christ, who says of himself, I am the Truth.

And of whom Simeon says, Mine eyes have seen thy salvation. And elsewhere the Psalmist asks, saying, Grant us thy salvation. I have not concealed thy mercy and thy truth from the great council. In councils and synagogues, before kings and rulers, with great authority and boldness the holy Apostles and martyrs preached the mercy and truth of Christ. Wouldest thou hear the mercy of God? Do penance, and thy sins are forgiven thee. Wouldest thou hear the truth? Hold fast righteousness, and an eternal reward shall be given thee. Hear mercy together with truth. Do penance, for the kingdom of heaven is at hand. Penance pertains to mercy, the kingdom of heaven to truth. Now mercy is preached, afterward truth shall be shown. Again, he who now scorns mercy shall afterward feel truth strictly, not indeed unto glory, but unto punishment. Then he looked back upon the wounded members, and prays for them, saying:

But thou, O Lord, remove not thy mercies far from me, that is, from mine own. Look upon sinners, and do not remove thy mercies far from them. Whoever feels himself removed from the Lord by a wicked life, by an evil will, let him say devoutly, let him say tearfully, But thou, O Lord, remove not thy mercies far from me. I am wretched, thou art merciful. Many are my iniquities, but thy mercies surpass them. Thy mercy and thy truth have always upheld me. I consider that thou art merciful: I consider that thou art truthful. I love the merciful one, I fear the truthful one. And so love and fear draw me to thee: because thy mercy and thy truth have always upheld me. Therefore I pray, remove not thy mercies far.

For evils have surrounded me, of which there is no number. Innumerable are my sins, infinite are my negligences, which surround me on every side, hinder me on every side. Let us say these things from the marrow of our heart. Let us show our physician our sufferings: let us humbly beseech that he receive us to be healed. Let no one think himself righteous. For, as the Apostle witnesses, in many things we all offend. It belongs to us to cry out, to groan, to confess: not to boast, not to glory in merits. For if there be any, what hast thou that thou hast not received? Rightly therefore it is added: My iniquities have overtaken me, and I was not able to see. So far do our iniquities overtake us, that even if we wish to escape, we cannot without help. Hence elsewhere the Psalmist says: The cords of sinners have entangled me. Whence he also asks, saying, Turn again our captivity, O Lord.

But having lost the light of truth, we have come into such blindness, that we do not know ourselves. We commit evils, and do not quickly perceive even those already committed. The soul, shut out from the inner light, finds nothing in itself but darkness. It has lost the ability to see itself, because it has despised the vision of its Maker. From the loss of light has grown the multiplicity of iniquity. Therefore he adds: They are multiplied above the hairs of my head. He refers to the hairs of the head as a measure of multitude. Who numbers the hairs? Much less does he number the sins, which exceed the number of hairs. Now thou dost not kill, thou dost not commit adultery, thou dost not steal, thou dost not bear false witness, and other such great sins: these are the masses of sins. Thou hast guarded against great things; what dost thou do about the small ones? Thou hast cast off the mass; take care thou be not overwhelmed by the sand.

But yet more grievous is what follows: And my heart hath forsaken me. That is, the strength of my heart has failed, and is not fit to know itself. As often as we wander abroad in mind, delight in earthly things, abandon our own proper pursuits: and either do, or speak, or think vain things: so often our heart forsakes us. As often as we do not think of God, or of the things which pertain to the benefit of souls: so often we lose our heart. Whence a certain wise man says, Whatever time thou hast not thought of God, count that thou hast lost it. Fittingly then follows this prayer in which it is said:

Let it please thee, O God, that thou mayest deliver me, O Lord, look to helping me. It is well said, Let it please thee: for not from merits, but by his good pleasure alone, by grace alone, by his goodness alone, does God justify man. The merciful Lord has mercy on us, because it so pleases him, not because we have deserved it. Therefore he says to his disciples, Ye have not chosen me, but I have chosen you. And the Apostle: By the grace of God I am what I am. Commending grace, therefore, he humbly beseeches the Lord to snatch him from so many and so great evils as he has set forth, that mercifully looking upon him he may help him in good things. Then he prays against his persecutors, saying:

Let them be confounded and ashamed together, that seek after my soul. Why should they be ashamed, either of the Lord, or of the punishment with which they are to be punished? Many sought the soul of Christ, but he had power to lay down his soul and to take it again. They rejoiced when he laid it down: they were confounded when he received it back. Many still seek the body of Christ, and seek to destroy souls: who indeed either shall now be confounded, that they may blush at their evils, and do penance, and fearing be filled with reverence: or shall afterward suffer eternal confusion, when it shall be said to them, Depart, ye cursed, into everlasting fire. Whence it is also added: Let them be turned backward, and put to shame, that wish me evil. Let those become as men turned backward through humility, who were wickedly upraised through pride, and let those who went before dragging and killing, now follow in obedience.

Let them also be filled with reverence, that is, let them fear and honor God, who before blasphemed: and thus let them be converted from the evil will with which they persecuted me.

Let them straightway bear their confusion. That they may quickly return to penitence: Who say to me, Aha, aha. That is, Well done, well done: it is mocking praise. In these three verses note three kinds of persecutors. First he prays for those who seek his soul, to take it away: these are to be understood as those who by open persecution try to kill the servants of God. Such were those who with swords and clubs seized Jesus, and who set him on the cross. Next he prays for those who wish him evil. These are to be taken as those who do not yet persecute openly, but bear hatred and enmities in their heart: these sometimes use pretences and cunning arguments to deceive those whom they hate, sometimes they break loose into words of malice. Such were the Jews against the Lord (Matt. And 22). Afterward he prays for those who say to him, Aha, aha: these designate those who are wont to deride the religion and simplicity of the just.

Such also were present at the passion of Christ. All these persist in his very body. But just as the Lord did not avenge himself upon them, but prayed for them: so we ought not to seek vengeance upon our enemies, but to offer humble prayer, just as he himself commanded, saying: Love your enemies, do good to those who hate you: and, Pray for those who persecute and slander you. And as if someone should ask, with what fruit, what reward? He immediately adds, That you may be (he says) sons of your Father who is in heaven. And giving us an example from himself, he adds: Who makes his sun to rise upon the good and the evil, and rains upon the just and the unjust. Consider how great an honor it is to be a son of God, that you may patiently bear the injuries of an enemy. Then turning himself to the Lord, he consoles us and admonishes, saying:

Let all who seek you exult and rejoice over you. Let all, through faith and love, who seek you, exult in body, rejoice in spirit: not over themselves, but over you: so that he who glories may glory in the Lord. A twofold reward has been promised us by the Lord, namely the immortality of the body, and the beatitude of the soul. Therefore we are bidden to rejoice with a twofold exultation, when it is said, Let them exult and rejoice. For to exult pertains to the body, but to rejoice pertains to the soul. Moreover the praise of the Lord is commended, when it is added, And let them say always, May the Lord be magnified, who love your salvation. For what ought we so to praise, so to proclaim, so to magnify, as God and the Father of lights, from whom is every good gift and every perfect gift?

For he brought forth our first fathers, as they awaited him, from the mire of the pit, and set them upon the firm rock which is Christ: and gave them good works, taught a new song, enlightened others through them. He gave them fear and hope, drawing them away from false vanities. He increased them both in number and in virtue. Then he sent his Son into the flesh, who should do his will and announce his justice in the great Church, and his mercy and truth and his salvation, that we might be freed from countless sins and enemies, and might exult and rejoice in the Lord. These are the causes for the just to say always, May the Lord be magnified. But who say this? Those, he says, who love your salvation, that is, your Son, through whom eternal salvation has been given to us. Whoever does not love our Lord Jesus Christ, his praise is not comely in his mouth. Nothing commends our praise before the Lord except affection and charity.

And what ought we so much to love as him by whom we were created and saved? Again he returns to the consideration of the misery and want which he suffers in this pilgrimage: and he says,

But I am a beggar and poor. But consolation immediately returns, when he adds, The Lord is careful for me. Behold, we are beggars of the Lord: we sit at the door of his mercy: we beg, and we cry out, Your kingdom come, and, Give us our bread, and, Deliver us from evil. For we are poor, we have nothing of ourselves. Behold a great hope: The Lord is careful for me. Someone placed in the service of the Lord says, I am a beggar, I am poor, I have not whence to live. Do not despair, you poor of the Lord. Cast all your care upon him, for he cares for you. And do not say, What shall we eat? Or with what shall we be clothed? For these things the nations consider. What then must be done? First seek the kingdom of God and his justice, and all these things shall be added unto you. The Lord, says the poor man, is careful for me. Therefore if the Lord is careful, let us also be secure.

But because he had long been waiting and waited, he asks for the Lord, when he adds, My helper and my protector are you, my God, do not delay. Waiting I have waited for you, my Lord: you have attended to me, bestowing many benefits: you are careful for me. In this life you have become my helper in good things, and my protector in adversities. Only your coming remains for me, my God, do not delay. As long as I do not see you, do not possess you, I am a beggar and poor. Nothing outside you suffices for me. You are my expectation: you are my salvation: do not tarry. To one who desires, who burns, one hour is a long delay: my God, do not delay.

The title of the following psalm is, Unto the end, a psalm of David; since it has already been often explained, there is no need to repeat it. The matter is Christ, God and man, according to his humanity injured, through his deity glorified. He makes three parts in this psalm. In the first part he admonishes, with good promises, that Christ may be understood as God above man. In the second part he sets forth the causes why certain persons thought him simply a man, because they saw him injured in many ways. In the third part he makes us certain that he was more than a man. The intention is to admonish us that the mediator of God and men existed as man and God at once: on account of the glory of the passion of Christ, the emperor of martyrs, who did not spare himself, commanding his soldiers to the fight, but fought first, conquered first, that he might exhort those fighting by example, and help them by majesty, and crown them by promise.

Let us hear something in this psalm which pertains to his passion. We commend again, as it is useful for us to retain, that the Lord Jesus Christ speaks for the most part from himself, that is, from his own person, which is our head: and for the most part from the person of his body, which is we and his Church: but in such a way that the words sound as if from the person of one man, so that we may understand that head and body consist in the unity of one whole, and are not separated from one another, like that marriage of which it is said, They shall be two in one flesh. If then we acknowledge two in one flesh, let us acknowledge two in one voice. Let us then hear what is said.

Blessed is he who understands concerning the needy and the poor. That is, concerning Christ. To understand concerning the needy and the poor is to think something else higher concerning the humanity and infirmity of Christ. This certainly is to be understood, that our Lord and Redeemer, though he was in the form of God, emptied himself, taking the form of a servant, made in the likeness of men, and found in habit as a man. Rich with the Father, poor among us. But yet his poverty is our riches: just as his weakness is our strength: just as his foolishness is our wisdom: just as his mortality is our immortality. It is also fitting to understand that the poverty and infirmity of our Savior gives us an example of humility, patience, obedience, gentleness, charity. To understand and consider these things, to believe and imitate them, is true blessedness. And as if someone should ask, What fruit will there be of this understanding? There follows and it says: In the evil day the Lord will deliver him.

That is, in the day of judgment, when the wicked are to be punished, the Lord will deliver him from every evil, from every punishment, from every tribulation and distress of this world, and from the power and torments of the devil and of hell: and will transfer him into the liberty of the glory of the sons of God. He also relates other benefits which the Lord bestows upon the blessed man who understands, adding:

May the Lord preserve him, and give him life, and make him blessed on the earth, and not deliver him into the soul of his enemies. This prayer is a promise. For the Lord preserves this one who understands. Amid the dangers and temptations of this laborious life he does not allow him to perish. He does not permit him to be tempted above what he is able to bear. Whatever he does, wherever he turns, he is always in the custody of God. He gives him life by his Spirit more and more according to the inward man, that he may live daily more justly and purely in God. And he blesses him not only in heaven, but also on earth, bestowing spiritual virtues. According to what is written: Blessed are they who hope in you, O Lord, and blessed are they who love your name. And blessed are the poor in spirit. Blessed are the meek, blessed are the merciful, blessed are the peacemakers, blessed are the pure in heart, and so on.

The Lord promises us blessedness in the future life: but if we attend diligently, even in this earth we already possess a part of the reward. It is surely a part of great felicity, to have been able to despise the world, and to have begun to serve almighty God, to have escaped the most unhappy dominion of vices, to be free from the wretched slavery of the devil and of sin, not to be tormented by desires for vain things, not to be mixed up in crimes, to live innocently, to give effort to blessed chastity, to possess the sufficiency of glorious poverty: to seek nothing outside of God, to rest sweetly in his love and contemplation. Let us weigh how much the Lord has conferred upon us by his devout calling, from how many frauds, adulteries, robberies, perjuries, sacrileges, uncleannesses, vices and sins he has freed us: and then we shall know how true it is, what we hear in the psalm, which says: and make him blessed on the earth.

Now even if God sometimes hands over this one who understands into the hands of his enemies, so that they have power to kill the body, he never hands him over into their souls, that is, into the wills of his enemies: so that they might be able to make him obey their iniquitous wills. Whence the holy Martyrs, even in their sufferings, stood forth as victors, because even though they could be killed in body, yet they could never be broken in mind. But those who killed them were conquered: because what they wished to accomplish, they were by no means able to accomplish. Hence it is that at the deaths of the Martyrs we do not weep, but sing, because indeed we exult over the triumph. Nor do we announce deaths, but birthdays: because, happily reborn by martyrdom, they began to live blessedly in glory. Let it then be rightly said, And he shall not deliver him into the soul of his enemies. Another great gift follows.

May the Lord bring him help upon the bed of his sorrow. By the bed of sorrow is understood our flesh, which grieves in its weakness. As someone lies and rests upon his own bed, so the weak soul lies and rests in its own flesh. For it delights in carnal pleasures. Human nature indeed, from the very fact that it was created in weakness, always tends to fail, and slips unceasingly toward worse things, unless it be sustained by the help of divine grace. The bed carried you, you did not carry the bed. You were paralytic within: there is one present who says to you, Take up your pallet and go to your house. And as if it were asked, Why then, since God brings us help, do we suffer such evils in this life, such labors, such disquiet of flesh and world? He turns himself to the Lord, and, as though setting forth for us the counsel of medicine, adds: You have turned his whole bed in his infirmity.

By “bed” is meant the body together with the mind. He says “whole” with respect to all the senses, so that you may understand man to be weakened both according to the flesh and according to the mind, both interiorly and exteriorly. The bed of the flesh is weakened by hunger, by thirst, by cold, by heat, by suffering, by pain, by corruption, by mortality, and by innumerable other ways. The bed of the mind is weakened by ignorance, by folly, by dullness, by fear, by pride, by vainglory, by envy, by anger, and by many other ways. This infirmity, moreover, is the penalty of sin. Because man was unwilling to be strong in God, he is weak in himself. Because he took delight in flesh and spirit, he is punished in flesh and spirit. Let it then be said, You have turned his whole bed in his infirmity.

Therefore he is still left in this infirmity, even if the original sin, for which he was punished, be forgiven: lest he should again be able to grow proud, and be able to forget the fault which he committed. He is a wicked servant: he must always be kept under the lash. But now, being scourged, he asks for mercy, he asks for health, he returns from pride to humility. He confesses his sin, saying:

I said, O God, have mercy on me: heal my soul, for I have sinned against thee. I said, he declares. I did not hide my sins, I did not keep silent about confession: as a certain man kept silent, and therefore his bones grew old. For whoever does not disclose the evil he has done, loses even those virtues which he has. It is a mark of true humility to acknowledge one’s own fault, and to lay it open by the voice of confession. Therefore our Lord commands that we confess our sins to the priests: so that, namely, by confessing we be humbled, and through the merit of humility receive the remission of sins. For God resists the proud, but gives grace to the humble. Great is the fruit of confession. A certain penitent says in another psalm, I said, I will confess: and thou hast forgiven the wickedness of my sin. Observe how swift is God’s mercy toward the man who confesses.

He has not yet confessed, but he has resolved in his heart that he will confess, and therefore he is cleansed from sin. This is signified by what the Lord commanded to the lepers, saying: Go, show yourselves to the priests. And as they went on the way, they were healed. What does the publican say? God, be merciful to me a sinner. He went down justified. O blessed confession! How many through you are cleansed, healed, justified? Therefore let each one of us say humbly, say tearfully, say with feeling, say from the heart: I said, O God, have mercy on me: heal my soul, for I have sinned against thee. What is, I have sinned against thee? I have sinned in thy sight, or against thee. I am about to render thee an account for my sin. Such things friends say in confessing. Let us hear what enemies said in erring.

My enemies have spoken evils against me. These words properly pertain to the Head. As if he should say, I have come, the mediator of God and men. But the enemies, not attending to this, and believing me to be only a man, not God, spoke these evils against me, that is, concerning me: When shall he die, and his name perish? For they wished that he should die, and that his name should be blotted out from the earth. Christ died, and his name became wondrous. A grain of wheat falling into the earth died, and thence was multiplied all the more. So too the body of Christ is wont to grow in tribulation. The Jewish enemies were saying: When shall he die? When shall we be able to kill him? And so his name, that is, his fame, shall perish. He also makes mention of his betrayer Judas, who was the head of the enemies, when he adds:

And if he went in to see, he spoke vain things; his heart gathered iniquity to itself. He went in as one deceitful, as a spy, as a lier in wait: not to imitate, but to see what he might be able to reprove, what to accuse, what to slander. His heart was dealing with the death of Christ, and thus he gathered iniquity to himself. For it were better for him if that man had not been born. What the Head suffered, the members suffer also. If they have persecuted me (he says), they will persecute you also. The Apostle says, Because of false brethren unawares brought in, who came in privily to spy out our liberty. These are hypocrites, feigners of evil, joining themselves with pretended charity, catching at every movement, every word of the saints, seeking snares in everything. Many such are found within the fellowship of the brethren, who, abandoning spiritual studies, growing sluggish in idleness, desire daily to hear and see and speak vanity: they spend the whole day in tales, in curiosity, in folly.

Subjecting their minds also to wicked concupiscences and unlawful thoughts, they gather iniquity to themselves in their heart, that is, to their own detriment. They gathered it to themselves, not to me, just as Judas did to himself, not to Christ. He went forth outside, and spoke the same thing. He went out to the Jews, and spoke the same thing, that is, with one counsel, one conspiracy. Of such the Apostle says: They went out from us, but they were not of us. Whether they be within or without, they always speak that which pertains to vanity, and always gather to themselves iniquity and damnation. Many are within in body, and without in heart: as it is said of certain Israelites, that in their heart they turned back into Egypt. And elsewhere someone says in a psalm: And my heart hath forsaken me. Whoever wanders in mind and thinks vain things, he himself goes forth outside. But if that which is useless and vain, our heart delightedly meditates, the same thing also our tongue gladly speaks.

Do you wish to know of what sort a brother’s heart is? Observe from what he speaks the more willingly. For out of the abundance of the heart the mouth speaks. And a good man out of the good treasure of his heart brings forth good things, and an evil man out of the evil treasure of his heart brings forth evil things. Let us guard, brothers, our entering in, let us remain within, and let us draw great edification for ourselves from these words. First he said, He went in, and did not say, to act, but to see: already there is noted a wandering of the eyes and a curiosity, a vice which is wont vehemently to harm those converted. Hear another vice: He spoke vain things. Hear a third: His heart gathered iniquity to itself. Perverse thoughts separate from God. These three are the pursuits of the idle in the cloister: wandering of the eyes, superfluity of words, perversity of thoughts. These three vices cast the brother out of the cloister.

For this reason he willingly goes forth outside, that the vanity which he carries in his heart he may more freely see and speak outside. Judas, having gone out, spoke to the Jews. But what did they say? All my enemies whispered together against me: they devised evils to me. What was adverse and harmful to me, they sought out with secret counsels and thoughts. For they feared lest perhaps a tumult should arise among the people. It should be known, however, that whispering is a great sin. Hence a certain wise man says: The whisperer and the double-tongued is accursed, for he has disturbed many who were at peace.

They devised an unjust word against me. For they resolved that false testimony should be spoken against Jesus. It was also an unjust word, when they said, Let him be crucified. And, He is guilty of death. Thus they did against me. But, Shall not he that sleepeth rise again? He who can rise from death as easily as one asleep can be roused from sleep, shall he not add to his death that he should rise? Shall not he rise, who says, I have power to lay down my life, and to take it up again? And Adam slept, when Eve was formed from his side. Adam in the figure of Christ, Eve in the figure of the Church. While Christ slept on the cross, from his side flowed the sacraments of the Church. And whence did he sleep? From him who went in to see.

For even the man of my peace, in whom I trusted, who ate my bread, hath greatly lifted up his heel against me. It was no wonder if my enemies were devising evils against me: since even the man of my peace, that is, Judas, with whom I had peace, and who feigned himself peaceable: in whom I trusted, as far as men’s estimation went. For they thought that I trusted him greatly, and confided greatly in him, who ate my bread, that is, to whom I held out the dipped morsel: or he ate my spiritual bread, because he daily heard my preaching. He magnified a greater supplanting against me than the others did: because he also betrayed with a kiss. Do not think, brothers, that all who come to the religious life, and take up the habit of holy religion, are all holy, all religious. Even Judas was an Apostle among the Apostles: it was hoped that he was holy: yet he himself was a thief and a robber.

But just as Christ patiently endured this, so if we have among us some pretenders, who sit at our table, who are joined to us: they are to be tolerated with equanimity in the kiss of peace, by the example of our Lord: because he who does not tolerate evil is, by his own impatience, a witness against himself that he is not good. But if such a one is patiently tolerated by us: to him indeed there is great loss, but to us, on account of the virtue of patience, a great reward shall be rendered by the Lord. We ought to know, moreover, that just as it is very praiseworthy, and belongs to great perfection, to be good among the wicked: so, on the contrary, it is very detestable, and belongs to great perversity, to be wicked among the good. O how glorious and acceptable to God it is, if among many proud one is humble, among many wrathful one is meek, among many licentious one is chaste, among many disordered one is religious!

So too it is exceedingly shameful, and vehemently displeasing to God, when among many humble one is proud, among many chaste one is unclean, among many gentle one is wrathful, among many religious one is perverse. He is to be tolerated, because the Lord has commanded it: but he himself shall not escape the wrath of God. And just as the good man, for his praiseworthy perfection, shall receive from the Lord a greater reward than other men: so too, together with Judas the traitor, he shall receive a greater damnation. For he magnified the supplanting against Christ, because he strove, by his perverse example, to supplant his members from their good purpose. Christ, however, does not merely vindicate himself, but patiently endures and prays. Yet in the future he will render the evils which they do, unless they now repent, in vain. And therefore he says:

But thou, O Lord, have mercy on me, and raise me up again, and I will requite them. Let this be “have mercy,” that thou raise me from death: and I will requite them in the future. We shall all stand before the tribunal of Christ, to render an account, and to receive according to what each has done in the body, whether good or evil. And I know that he will raise me up, and he gives the reason from which he knows, when he adds:

In this I have known that thou hast willed me: because my enemy shall not rejoice over me. As if I had been overcome. For the Jews rejoiced, when they saw Christ crucified. They thought they had fulfilled their will to do harm, the fruit of their cruelty accomplished. They saw Christ hanging on the cross, they shook their heads, saying: If thou be the Son of God, come down from the cross. He who was able did not come down. He was not showing powerlessness, but teaching patience. For if, when they were saying this, he had come down from the cross, he would seem to have yielded to those who were insulting him, and, being overcome, would be believed unable to endure their reproaches. Rather he remained on the cross while they insulted him, fixed while they wagged their heads. For this reason they shook their heads, because they did not cleave to the Head. Plainly he taught us patience.

For what is stronger, he did—he who was unwilling to do what the Jews were provoking him to do. For it is much more powerful to rise from the tomb than to come down from the cross. Because my enemy shall not rejoice over me. They rejoiced therefore, but Christ rose again, Christ was glorified. Now they see the human race being converted in his name: let them now mock, let them now shake their heads—nay rather, let them now be transfixed of head.

But me thou hast upheld by reason of my innocence. Me, scourged without deserving it, slain without owing it, by reason of innocence, by reason of integrity, without sin, thou hast taken up to be healed, as a physician takes up a sick man. And thou hast confirmed me, By giving immortality and impassibility. In thy sight. In thy majesty and divinity. For ever. Because Christ, rising from the dead, dies now no more; death shall no longer have dominion over him. Behold, Christ is upheld by reason of innocence, and being upheld he is confirmed for ever. Attend, brethren, the way to the Lord is innocence. This is asked in another psalm. Who shall ascend into the mountain of the Lord? And immediately it is added: The innocent in hands, and clean of heart. He is innocent who harms neither himself nor another. Let us then consider our Head placed in our infirmity.

For blessed is he that understandeth concerning the needy and the poor; and let us learn in him the virtue of innocence, who, when he was reviled, did not revile: when he suffered, he threatened not: but delivered himself to him that judged him unjustly (1 Peter 2). He was led as a sheep to the slaughter, and as a lamb before his shearer, he opened not his mouth. Rightly therefore he says, But me thou hast upheld by reason of my innocence, and therefore he was deservedly confirmed for ever. This he did, this he taught; let us imitate this innocence of his as far as we are able: that sin may not reign in us, that with our Head we may deserve to be upheld by God the Father and confirmed for ever. And lest we be ungrateful, let us give him thanks for such great benefits, and with whole heart, with whole devotion, let us say what follows: Blessed be the Lord God of Israel.

Thence let him be blessed and praised, as ruler and creator of Israel, that is, of those who see him through faith, and believe that they will see him through vision: who understand that his Son is God and man. And let this blessing begin from this age, and endure even to the age to come. So be it, so be it. Here in the Hebrew is found, Amen, amen. This repetition of the word signifies indissoluble confirmation. With this repetition of the word the Lord himself made use in the Gospel, where he says: Amen, amen I say to you: to confirm, that is, his statement. In which he grants us to understand, that what truth thus doubles, it affirms with constancy.

This psalm is entitled in this manner: Unto the end, understanding for the sons of Core. The title is to the psalm as the key is to the house. For as through the key the house is unlocked, that its interior may be seen: so through the title the psalm is opened, that the spiritual things which are within may be understood. It is a matter of great mystery that Christians should be called sons of Core. For Christians are said to be sons of the Crucified. For by Core is understood Christ, because Core is interpreted "skull": and in the place of Calvary Christ was crucified. That place indeed, as some say, was for this reason called Calvary, because criminals were wont there to be scalped and beheaded. Therefore this understanding which the words of the following psalm generate for us, is attributed to the sons of Core, that is, to the sons of the cross: directed unto the end, that is, desiring to arrive at the sum of blessedness.

The subject-matter is the just man according to both powers of the soul. Or the subject-matter can be called the desire of the highest good. In the first part the just man is shown, according to the higher power of the soul, to desire God, to seek after heavenly things alone, and not to fear the adversities of this life. In the second part, through that higher power, he strengthens the animal power, which is quickly moved by tribulation. It is the voice of the perfect, consoling themselves in this psalm with the hope of future blessedness, and patiently bearing the tribulation of this life. For they consider that the sufferings of this time are not worthy to be compared with the glory to come, that shall be revealed in us. Their intention is to exhort us, that, placed in tribulations, we may console ourselves by their example, and in affliction not fail through hope of future recompense.

Their desire, at the beginning of the psalm, those who desire to tend toward the end thus set forth: The voice of the perfect:

As the hart panteth after the fountains of water, so my soul panteth after thee, O God. It is said to be the nature of the hart, that it draws out the serpent by its breath, and swallows it for its own renewal. Having swallowed it, it burns with such great thirst on account of the venom, that it is not enough for it to have drunk from one fountain, but it runs to many. In this manner this perfect soul professes itself to have desired God, saying: As, that is, as ardently, as the hart desires and hastens, having swallowed the serpent, not to one fountain of waters only, but to many: so, in that manner, both with the ardor and fervor of my soul, having swallowed vices, my soul desires to come to thee. For as many fountains cool the thirst of the hart, so thou wilt be to me a refreshment from many miseries: that through thee I may put off all the oldness of sin, and be reformed in spiritual newness.

Because with thee is the fountain of life, to which thou thyself hast deigned to invite souls, saying: If any man thirst, let him come to me, and drink. And again, He that drinks of the water which I give him, it shall become in him a fountain of water springing up unto life everlasting. Therefore,

My soul hath thirsted after the strong living God. Here there is a turning of the person to the hearers: that they may be admonished and edified. For the just have this as their own property, that in all that they say or do, they seek not their own profit only, but that of others. God is the living fountain, the fountain that fails not. Or strong and living, that is, incorruptible and immortal. Run to the fountain, or to the strong living one. Let your running be your affection. Let your running be your desire. But do not run just anyhow, do not run as some ordinary animal: run as the hart. The hart, having destroyed serpents, burns with greater thirst, and runs the more keenly to the fountains. The serpents are your vices. Consume the serpents of iniquity, then you will desire the fountain of truth the more. But let us hear, what this blessed soul thirsted for. When shall I come, and appear before the face of God? When shall I come?

What is soonest is slow to desire. This is what it thirsts for—to come and to appear. The Apostle says, We are the sons of God, but it doth not yet appear what we shall be. We know that, when he shall appear, we shall be like to him: because we shall see him as he is. This is what it thirsts for. I thirst in the pilgrimage: I thirst in the course, I shall be satisfied at the coming. Whence elsewhere he says: I shall be satisfied when thy glory shall appear. Meanwhile, while I meditate, while I run, while I am on the way, before I come, before I appear:

My tears have been my bread day and night, while it is said to me daily, Where is thy God? My tears, he says, have been to me not bitterness but bread. Sweet were those very tears. Thirsting for that fountain, because I was not yet able to drink, I ate my tears the more eagerly. For he did not say, my tears have become my drink, lest he should seem to have desired the tears themselves, as one desires fountains of waters: but keeping that thirst by which I burn for the fountains of waters, my tears have become bread to me, while I am put off. And indeed, by eating my tears, without doubt I thirst the more for the fountains. For day and night my tears have become bread. This food which is called bread, men eat by day. By night they sleep.

They eat the bread of tears day and night, whether you take the whole of day and night, or understand day for the prosperity of this world, and night for the adversity of this world. Whether, he says, in the prosperous things of the world, or in the adverse things of the world, I pour out the tears of my longing. I do not abandon the eagerness of my desire. And when it is well with me in the world, it is ill with me before I shall appear before the face of God. Why then do you compel me to rejoice as it were in the day? If some prosperity of this world has smiled upon me, is it not deceptive? Is it not fleeting, perishable, mortal, fugitive, transitory? Does it not have more of deception than of delight? Why then should not my tears become bread on this account too? Since even when the felicity of the world shines round about, as long as we are in this body, we are pilgrims from the Lord.

And it is said to me daily, Where is thy God? For if a pagan should say this to me, I too can say to him, Where is thy God? For he points out his god with his finger. He points his finger at some stone, and says, Behold, this is my god. Where is thy God? When I have laughed the stones to scorn, and he who pointed has blushed, he takes himself away from the stone, looks up to heaven, and perhaps pointing his finger at the sun, again says, Behold my god. Where is thy God? He has found what he can show to fleshly eyes. But I do not lack something to show; rather, he lacks eyes by which I might show it. For could he show his god the sun to the eyes of my body—by what eyes could I show the creator of the sun? Nevertheless, hearing daily, Where is thy God? And in my tears having daily food day and night, I have pondered what I heard, Where is thy God?

I too myself have sought my Lord, that if I could, I might not only believe, but also see something. For I see what my God has made, but I do not see my God himself who made these things. But since as the hart longs for the fountains of waters, and there is with God a fountain of life: and this same psalm is inscribed for understanding to the sons of Core, and the invisible things of God are clearly seen, being understood by the things that are made: what shall I do, that I may find my God? Shall I consider the earth? The earth was made. There is great beauty of the lands, but it has a maker. Great are the marvels of seeds and of growing things, but all these have a Creator. I attend to the greatness of the surrounding sea: I am astonished, I marvel, I seek the maker.

I look up to heaven: I admire the beauty of the stars, the splendor of the sun sufficing to bring forth the day, the moon consoling the darkness of the night. These things are wonderful, these are to be praised, these are even to be marveled at. For they are not only earthly, but also heavenly. Yet still my thirst does not rest: I marvel at these, I praise these; but him who made these, I thirst for. I return to myself, and I ask, and I search within myself even to know who I myself am amid such things: and I find that I have a body and a soul: the one to rule, the other to be ruled. The body to serve, the soul to command. I discern that the soul is something better than the body: and I see that it is not the body but the soul that is the inquirer into such things. And yet I know that all these things which I have surveyed, I surveyed through the body.

I praised the earth, I had known it by the eyes. Heaven, the stars, the sun and the moon I praised: I had known them by the eyes. The eyes are members of the flesh, windows of the mind. He is within who sees through these, who, when he is absent through some thought, they lie open in vain. My God who made these things which I see with my eyes, is not to be sought with these eyes. Let the mind itself also see something through itself, whether there be anything which it perceives not through the eyes, as colors and light: not through the ears, as songs and sound: not through the nostrils, as the sweetness of odors: not through the palate and tongue, as flavor: not through the whole body, as I handle hardness and softness, stiffness and warmth, roughness and smoothness: but whether there be something which it sees within. What is it to see within? That which is neither color, nor sound, nor odor, nor flavor, nor heat, nor cold, nor hardness, nor softness.

Let it be told me then what color wisdom has. We think of its justice, because within, in that very thought, we enjoy beauty. What rises to the ears as sound? What rises to the nostrils as vapor? What is put into the mouth? What is handled by the hand? And yet it delights, and is within, and is beautiful, and is seen, and is praised. And even if these eyes are in darkness, the mind enjoys its light. What was that which Tobias saw, when, blind, he was giving counsel of life to his seeing son? There is, then, something which the mind itself, master, ruler, dweller of the body, sees, which it perceives not through the eyes of the body, not through the ears, not through the nostrils, not through the palate, not through the touch of the body: but through itself. And surely that which is through itself is better than that which is altogether through its servant. For it sees itself through itself, and the mind also, that it may know itself, sees itself.

Nor indeed does it seek the aid of bodily eyes in order to see itself. Rather, it has withdrawn itself from all the senses of the body, as though they were hindering and clamoring, to itself, so that it might see itself in itself, that it might know itself with itself, it has gathered itself together. But is God then something such as the mind itself is? God indeed cannot be seen except by the mind; yet he cannot be seen as the mind is seen. For this mind seeks something which is God, concerning whom those who say, Where is thy God? May not insult it. It seeks some unchangeable truth, without defect of substance. The mind itself is not such: it fails, it advances: it knows, it is ignorant: it remembers, it forgets: now it wills this, now it does not will it. Such mutability does not fall upon God. If I should say, God is mutable, they will insult me who say, Where is thy God?

Seeking, then, my God in visible things, and not finding him: seeking his substance in myself, as though he were something, and such as I am, and not finding him: I seek something above my soul, and behold I perceive my God. Therefore that I might touch him,

These things I remembered, and I poured out my soul in myself. When would my soul attain what is sought concerning it, unless my soul poured itself out upon itself? For if it remained in itself, it would see nothing other than itself, and when it saw itself, it would not indeed see its Lord. Let my insulters now say, Where is thy God? I will say, as long as I do not see, as long as I am deferred, I will eat my tears day and night. Let them still say, Where is thy God? I seek my God therefore in every body, whether earthly or heavenly, and I do not find him. Yet I have meditated on the seeking of my God, and through the things that have been made, desiring to perceive with understanding the invisible things of my God, I have poured out my soul upon myself. And nothing now remains for me to touch, except my God. For there is the house of my God, over my soul.

There he dwells, thence he created me, thence he governs me, thence he counsels me, thence he awaits me, thence he calls me, thence he directs me, thence he leads me, thence he brings me through. For he who has his highest house in secret, has also a tabernacle on earth. His tabernacle on earth is his Church, still a pilgrim. But he who is found in the tabernacle must be sought, as the way by which one arrives at the house. For indeed, when I poured out my soul upon myself, in order to attain to my God, why did I do this? Because I shall enter into the place of the tabernacle. For outside the place of the tabernacle I shall wander seeking my God. Because I shall enter into the place of the wonderful tabernacle, even unto the house of God. Behold how many things I admire in the tabernacle. For the tabernacle of my God on earth is faithful men.

I admire in them the obedience of their own members, because sin does not reign in them so as to obey its desires, nor do they present their members as weapons of iniquity to sin, but they present themselves to the living God in good works: I admire the bodily members serving as soldiers for the soul that serves the living God. I look also at the soul itself, obedient to God, distributing to God the works of its own action, bridling desires, driving away ignorance, extending itself to endure all things hard and rough. Spending justice and charity upon others. I marvel also at these virtues in the mind, but I am still walking in the place of the tabernacle. I pass beyond even these things, and although the tabernacle is admirable, I am astonished when I come even unto the house of God.

While he marvels at the members of the tabernacle, he is thus led to the house of God, following a certain interior sweetness, I know not what hidden pleasure: as though from the house of God some instrument sounded sweetly. And as he walked in the tabernacle, having heard a certain interior sound, drawn by the sweetness of God, following what sounded, drawing himself away from all the noise of flesh and blood, he arrived even unto the house of God. For he thus recalls to himself his own way, and how he was led, as if we should say to him: You marvel at the tabernacle in this land, and how have you come to the secret of God? In the voice, he says, of exultation and confession, the sound of one feasting. In the house of God there is everlasting festivity.

For nothing there is celebrated and passes away: it is an everlasting feast, the choir of angels, the present countenance of God, joy without defect, a feast day there such that it is neither opened by a beginning nor closed by an end. From that eternal and perpetual festivity there sounds I know not what melodious and sweet thing to the ears of the heart. But if the world does not clamor for him walking in this tabernacle, and considering the miracles of God in the redemption of the faithful, the sound of that festivity soothes his ear, and carries the hart away to the fountains of waters. But because, brethren, as long as we are in the body, we are pilgrims from the Lord: and the body which is corrupted weighs down the soul, and the earthly habitation presses down the mind that thinks many things.

And if, both clouds being dispersed, walking through desire we arrive at this sound, sometimes we pluck something of that house by striving; yet by a certain burden of our weakness we fall back to our accustomed ways, and slip down to these usual things. And just as there we had found something for which to rejoice, so here there will not be lacking something for which to groan. For indeed this hart, eating his tears day and night, carried by desire to the fountains of waters, that is, to the interior sweetness of God, pouring out his soul upon himself, walking in the place of the wonderful tabernacle even unto the house of God, and led by the delight of an interior and intelligible sound, so that he might despise all exterior things, and be carried away to interior things: nevertheless he is still a man, he still groans here, he still bears fragile flesh, he is still endangered among the scandals of this world.

He looked also at himself, as though coming thence, and says to himself, being set among these sorrows: comparing these things to those which he entered to see, and which after being seen he departed from: Why, he says, art thou sad, my soul, and why dost thou trouble me? Behold, we have already rejoiced with a certain interior sweetness. Behold, with the sharpness of the mind we were able to perceive something unchangeable (even if briefly and in passing): why then art thou still sad, my soul? For thou dost not doubt concerning thy God. For is there not something for thee to say against those who say, Where is thy God? Already I have perceived something unchangeable: why dost thou still trouble me? Hope in God. And as if his soul answered him in silence: Why do I trouble thee, except because I am not yet there, where that sweet thing is, by which I was thus carried away as if in passing? Do I now drink from that fountain, except in fear?

Do I now fear no scandal? Am I now secure concerning all desires, as if subdued and conquered? Does not the devil watch against me? Does not my enemy daily stretch out snares of deception for me? Do you not wish me to trouble you, placed in the world, and still a pilgrim from the house of my God? Hope in God, he answered to his soul that was troubling him, and as if giving an account of its disturbance because of the evils with which this world abounds: Meanwhile, he says, dwell in hope. For hope that is seen is not hope. But if we hope for what we do not see, we wait for it with patience. Hope in God. Why do you hope in God? Because I shall yet confess to him. What will you confess to him? The salvation of my countenance, and my God. From myself, salvation cannot be for me. For this reason I say this, I confess.

Thy salvation, O God the Father, is my countenance, that is to say, it is a man: as it is written, Taking the form of a servant, and being found in habit as a man: and he is also God. Rightly indeed do I call thy Son thy salvation: because through him, made man, thou hast worked eternal salvation for us. And as if someone should say: Why do you reproach thus, and seem to be angry with your soul, saying, Why art thou sad, my soul? And so forth. He answered: To myself, my soul, that is, the animal and sensual part, namely that lower part of the soul which animates and gives life to the body, Has been troubled, on account of the tribulations that are brought upon me: and the author is not to be blamed for this, but it is to be attributed to myself, that is, it must be turned back upon my own fault.

Therefore, because my soul has been troubled toward myself, and pride has made this disturbance: Therefore I will remember thee from the land of Jordan, and Hermoniim, from the little hill. Whence shall I remember thee? From the small mountain, and from the land of Jordan, that is, from baptism, where there is remission of sins. For no one runs to the remission of sins, except one who is displeased with himself. No one runs to the remission of sins, except one who confesses himself a sinner. No one confesses himself a sinner, except one who has humbled himself before God. Therefore from the land of Jordan I will remember thee, and from the small mountain, so that thou mayest make it great. Because he who exalts himself shall be humbled, and he who humbles himself shall be exalted. But if you seek the interpretation of the names, Jordan means their descent. Descend, therefore, that you may be lifted up. Do not be puffed up, lest you be struck down. And from Hermoniim, from the small mountain.

Hermon is interpreted as anathematization. Anathematize yourself, by being displeasing to yourself. For you will displease God, if you please yourself. Therefore, because God grants us all good things, because he himself is good, not because we are worthy; because he is merciful, not because we have merited anything: from the land of Jordan I will remember thee. Therefore also I will remember thee: because

Deep calleth on deep, at the voice of thy cataracts. The deep is a certain profundity, impenetrable, incomprehensible. Do we think the heart of man is not a deep? For what is deeper than this abyss? Men can speak, they can be seen through the working of their members, they can be heard in speech: but whose thought is penetrated? Whose heart is looked into? What it bears within, what it can do within, what it does within, what it disposes within, what it wills within, what it does not will within—who comprehends it? Deep calls on deep, man gains man. Yet not in its own voice, but in the voice of thy cataracts, that is, of thy preachers, who through their voice open to us the brightness of the heavenly kingdom. For cataracts are called windows. Yet according to some, cataracts are properly called aqueducts whence water bubbles forth. Such are the holy prophets and Apostles, from whom true doctrine flows down to us.

Or in the voice of the cataracts, that is, of those preaching, deep calls upon deep: because the words which they preach are confirmed from the Old and New Testament. Deep calls upon deep, because the two testaments confer mutual aid upon one another: because the Old is a prophecy of the New, and the New is an exposition of the Old Testament. But upon hearing the preaching, All thy high things, that is, all thy judgments, lofty, unsearchable, and thy waves, that is, thy threats, terrifying and battering, have passed over me. They have overcome me and plunged me into the depths: but nevertheless they have passed over. Wrath withdrew, mercy came. The waves passed, tranquility came. The little ship was tossed by the winds, it was covered by the waves: those in peril cried out to God, Save us: and he commanded the waves and the sea, and there was made a great calm. Where sin abounded, grace did more abound: because in his wrath God did not withhold his mercies. Whence also it is added:

In the daytime the Lord hath commanded his mercy. What is meant by daytime, but the time of grace? Whence it is written, Behold, now is the acceptable time, behold, now is the day of salvation. But because day also has its night, and grace has tribulation (for all who wish to live godly in Christ suffer persecution), therefore in the night of tribulation he has commanded a song of praise. And this is what follows: And in the night his canticle. A canticle in the night is the praise of God in tribulation. In this the children of wrath are distinguished from the children of grace, because when prosperous things come, both good and bad alike praise God in common. But when adversities come, the wicked murmur, but the good praise. Hence elsewhere it is said in the psalm, I will bless the Lord at all times, his praise shall always be in my mouth. Or by day may be understood the Gentile world illuminated by faith, by night the Jewish people blinded by unbelief.

In the daytime the Lord hath commanded his mercy, because he commanded that remission of sins and eternal life be preached to the believing Gentile world. But in the night a canticle: because Judaea, bereft, has left only the Old Testament. Hence elsewhere it is said, On the willows we hung up our instruments. Among the Jews, as upon fruitless willows, instruments are hung, because the words of the Law and the Prophets are among them. They hang indeed, but do not resound: because those in whom they are hung do not know the art of spiritual understanding. We have said that the canticle in the night is the praise of God in tribulation. But because while we are troubled, we are endangered: we ought not only to praise God, but also to pray. Therefore it follows:

With me is my prayer to the God of my life: I will say to God, Thou art my protector. Since our Redeemer commands us to pray, and yet the same says: For your Father knows what is necessary for you, before you ask him: it seems worth asking why we are commanded to ask from him who knows what we need. For certain heretics are wont to object that we speak in vain to one who knows. To whom, besides the example of the Lord, who prayed to the Father on the Mount of Olives, besides the authority of the precept by which he is known to have commanded us to pray, a brief answer can be given: that we do not devote ourselves to prayer in order to indicate to one who knows everything the things we need, but in order to obtain the things that are necessary for us. For it is one thing, in narrating, to wish to indicate something; another, in praying, to wish to obtain something.

In narration, indeed, zeal must be shown; but in prayer, the merit of being heard. And since in him who knows all things there is such mercy that there is also justice in him: what he wishes mercifully to grant freely to the needy, he also wills that these same needy ones should merit by prayer before his justice. For prayer, in the sacred writings, is more frequently taken to mean a right and useful and honorable petition of things before God or before his saints. There is nothing that a servant of God can do more usefully than to pray and praise God. But if we truly wish to pray, we must attend very carefully and commit to memory what is said, With me is my prayer to the God of my life. Often when I pray, my mind wanders outwardly, and I do not understand what I say. Then my prayer is not with me, nor am I myself with me.

Of such the Lord says, This people honors me with their lips, but their heart is far from me. But when does God attend to my prayer, to which I myself do not attend? But if in the innermost secret of my heart I pray to my God, and ask for those things which pertain to the salvation of my soul, then I can truly say, With me is my prayer to the God of my life, that is, to the God who grants to me both present life and eternal. And in that very prayer, I will say to God, Thou art my protector, that is, thou hast taken me up in my weakness to heal me; or, thou art my protector, lest I succumb in tribulation. Great is our confidence, brothers, because God is our protector. Therefore, after so many iniquities and negligences, let us hasten to penance: let us run with fervor of spirit to grace, which wills no one to perish, but all to be saved.

Come (he says) to me, all who labor, and I will refresh you. Again the weak soul, seeing itself a pilgrim, and afflicted amid troubles and temptations, complains with grief and groaning, saying: Why hast thou forgotten me? And why do I go about sorrowful, while the enemy afflicts me? The Lord seems to forget his servants when he permits them to be saddened, afflicted by persecutions, shaken by temptations; and does not quickly hear them, does not help visibly, does not deliver bodily. He says, therefore, Why? Because no one knows whether he suffers these things for testing or for condemnation. But it is greatly to be feared, what follows:

While my bones are broken, my enemies who trouble me have reproached me. Bones are strong; and yet sometimes even the strong yield to temptations. When anyone considers this from the body of Christ, does he not, from the voice of the body of Christ, cry out: Why hast thou cast me off? Why do I go about sorrowful, while the enemy afflicts me? While he breaks my bones? Not my flesh only, but even my bones: so that in those in whom some strength was thought to be, you may see them yield in temptations; so that the rest, the weak, may despair when they see the strong succumb. How great are these dangers, my brothers! They have reproached me, who trouble me. Again that voice, While they say to me daily, Where is your God? And this above all they say in the temptations of the Church: Where is your God? How much did the martyrs hear this, they who were strong and patient for the name of Christ!

And how much was it said to them, Where is your God? Let him deliver you, if he can. For they saw their torments outwardly, but did not see their crowns outwardly. And I, since because of these things my soul is troubled within me, what else shall I say to it, but this: Why art thou sad, my soul? And why dost thou trouble me? And as if it answered, Dost thou not wish me to trouble thee, placed here amid so many evils? Sighing after good things, knowing and laboring, dost thou not wish me to trouble thee? Hope, he says, in God, for I will still confess to him. He names the very confession, and repeats the confirmation of hope, The salvation of my countenance, and my God.

The title of the following psalm is, A Psalm of David. This psalm fits some just man afflicted from among the fellowship of the wicked and the miseries of this life; directing us to the end, that is, to Christ. The matter in this psalm is the separation of the just, here only in cause, but in the future both in person and in place. For he who here is distinguished from the wicked in cause can be secure, because at the final judgment he will be separated wholly, both body and soul. In the first part the just man asks to be separated from the impious. In the second part he affirms that he will enter into the secret chamber of God. In the third part he exhorts his animal nature to hope in the Lord. In which his intention is clear. For in comforting himself he intends also to comfort the weak, each by his example. The voice of the faithful:

Judge me, O God, and discern my cause from a nation not holy: deliver me from the unjust and deceitful man. Let not the enemy judge me: nor the false opinion of men, which makes good evil, and conversely evil good. But do thou judge me, who art just and merciful. And discern my cause; which, if thou find it just, Deliver me from a nation not holy, that is, from unbelievers: And from the unjust man, that is, from the open persecutor, and the deceitful man, who seeks secretly to deceive me. I fear not thy judgment, because I know thy mercy. Perfect love casts out fear. I do not fear thee with the fear of punishment, because I love thee. Not yet in this pilgrimage—thou dost not yet distinguish my place, because I live together with the tares, until the time of the harvest: thou dost not yet distinguish my light. Or, discern my cause. Let there be a distance between him who believes in thee and him who does not believe in thee.

Equal weakness, but unequal in self-control. Equal labor, but unequal desire. And thou oughtest to do this.

For thou art God my strength. I do not presume upon my own powers, nor to have any strength from elsewhere, but from thee alone: and I place all my hope in thee. In God we shall do valiantly, and he will bring our enemies to nothing. Sometimes a man makes strength for himself. He longs to reign, to dominate, to appear superior to others. He does not endure injuries, he avenges those inflicted. Such strength is human, not divine: carnal, not spiritual. It returns evil for evil, curse for curse. It is ashamed to appear conquered. But while it conquers a man, it is itself worse conquered by vice. Such strength is of pride. But the strength which is from God is not of the flesh, but of the soul: not against men, but against vices and the devil. It is patience itself, it is humility, obedience, charity, and the other virtues of the soul, which are from God. It is written, They that hope in the Lord shall renew their strength.

Hence the Apostle admonishes us, saying: Be not overcome by evil, but overcome evil with good. Let God, then, be our strength. In him we shall be delivered from temptations, through him we shall overcome the world and the devil, vices and sins, the flesh itself and evil desires: through him also we shall take the kingdom of heaven by force. According to what is written, And the violent bear it away. But contrary to these things which have been said seem to be the words that follow, when he says: Why hast thou cast me off? And why do I go about sorrowful, while the enemy afflicts me? If God is his strength, how is he cast off? How is he sorrowfully afflicted by the enemy? Is then the hand of the Lord weak? But it must be known that the pious Lord, by a certain dispensatory mercy of his, very often both retains his elect by casting them off, and casts them off by retaining them.

As when the devil sought the blessed Job to tempt him, Behold, said the Lord, he is in thy hand. But that in casting him off he retained him is shown when he immediately adds: Only save his life. But how great a man he was who was left by God and handed over to the devil, we learn from the Lord himself speaking to that same devil, when he says, Hast thou not considered my servant Job, that there is none like him on the earth? A simple and upright man, and one that feareth God, and departeth from evil. Being such a man, he could worthily say to the Lord: Why then hast thou cast me off? To whom also the Lord could worthily answer, Those whom I love, I rebuke and chastise: for the Lord scourges every son whom he receives. And, Blessed is the man that endureth temptation: for when he hath been proved, he shall receive the crown of life.

Behold why the Lord usefully casts off his servants. But because holy men do not know the hidden judgments of God, and know that many are forsaken and tempted damnably, they seek (if it can be done) to know the counsel of God: so that if they displease in anything, so as to be forsaken, they may correct themselves the more quickly, lest they be reproved. Whence he immediately adds:

Send forth thy light and thy truth. For unless he enlighten us, we are in darkness. Unless he teach us the truth, we shall err. But what else is the light of God, but the truth of God? Or what is the truth of God, but the light of God? Or what is either but the one Christ? I am (he says) the light of the world. I am the way, the truth, and the life. Rightly, then, it is added, They have conducted me and brought me unto thy holy hill, and into thy tabernacles. As if he said, That very light and truth of thine have led me, from error to thy faith: and have brought me unto thy holy hill. That is, into the perfection and eminence of the virtues. And into thy tabernacles, that is, into the unity and fellowship of the saints. Hence the present Church is called a tabernacle, because in it service is rendered to the Lord as in a camp.

Now the tabernacle is the dwelling of those in military service: and the life of man upon earth is a warfare. And he rightly says not tabernacle, but tabernacles: because there are many congregations of the saints, and in many places the Christian militia serves the Lord. For there are one set of tabernacles for married believers, another for the continent, another for beginners, another for the advanced, another for the perfect, another for hearers and subjects, another for prelates and preachers. All serve one King. And though the pursuits are diverse, the intention of the diverse is one. When you hear "light," cleanse the eye. That light of the heart requires a clean eye. Blessed are the clean of heart, for they shall see God. When you hear "tabernacle," understand warfare, beware the enemy. But now, being led into the tabernacle and placed on his holy mountain, what hope we bear, follows, and he says:

I will go in to the altar of God. What is that altar? To God, who gives joy to my youth. That is, who, when I have been made young, all oldness laid aside, will make me joyful, by giving immortality and impassibility. The altar of God is the very Son of God. To this altar we now enter through faith, afterward we shall enter through sight. And on this altar we now offer to God the Father vows and sacrifices, a contrite and humbled heart, prayers and supplications: afterward, all sadness having been driven away, on that same altar, in the very divinity, we shall offer only the sacrifice of praise, and not of prayer. Our youth shall rejoice in the resurrection, and after God shall be all in all. Then nothing will be lacking that need be asked for necessity; but we shall be free only for divine praises. But whoever desires to arrive at that praise must first begin here; therefore he adds, I will confess to thee upon the harp, O God, my God.

Where the repetition is a sign of affection and devotion. In this the harp differs from the psaltery, that the psaltery gives its sound from the upper part, the harp from the lower. In these two instruments, in very many places of the Psalms, we are bidden to confess to the Lord. Both are pleasing to God, and sweet to His ears. When the Apostle said that he preached the gospel of God, and that he had received it not from men, nor through man, but through Jesus Christ, the strings sounded from above. But when he said: We glory in tribulations, knowing that tribulation worketh patience, and so forth: the harp sounded, indeed from below, but sweetly nonetheless. For all patience is sweet to God. He says therefore, I will confess to thee upon the harp: because of what he had said, Why do I go about sad, while the enemy afflicts me?

He was suffering from a lower affliction, and in that very thing he wished to please God, and he was eager to give thanks through patience, he was speaking to God.

Meanwhile he addresses his own soul, consoling it, and says: Why art thou sad, O my soul? And why dost thou trouble me? But who is it that speaks to the soul? We understand that we have something in which the image of God is: namely the mind and reason. It is this that calls upon the light and truth of God. It is this by which we grasp the unjust and the just, by which we discern the true from the false. It is called understanding, of which beasts are devoid. Our understanding therefore addresses our soul, the higher part of the soul addressing the lower. This lower part is withered in tribulations, wearied in weaknesses, contracted in temptations, sick in labors. The mind, tasting truth, raises it up from above. It hears that inner voice of God. It hears an inward rational song.

For thus from above in silence something sounds, not to the ears, but to the minds: so that whoever hears that melody is wearied by bodily noise, and this whole human life becomes to him a kind of tumult, hindering the hearing of a certain inner sound, exceedingly delightful and ineffable. And when this happens, and man suffers violence from some disturbance, addressing his soul he says: Why art thou sad, O my soul? A certain present address sounds forth; faithful confession purges the rest. Whence he adds also: Hope in God. Await the Lord who rewards, for having already confessed, I will yet confess to Him. Now I confess afflicted: it is to come that I shall yet confess renewed and made joyful. And this is, and shall be, my confession, The salvation of my countenance, and my God. And this is a great cause of hope, that my Savior is my countenance, that is, having my countenance, my form, and for me was made man, and He Himself is my God.

Unto the end, for the sons of Core, for understanding. This psalm is set forth for the sons of Core, that is, the sons of the passion and the cross, for the having of understanding, to be understood: that they may understand that by the temporal goods given to the ancient people were signified the spiritual goods which are now given to the Christian people, and will be given more fully in the future. I say, for the sons of Core, directed unto the end, through this understanding. The matter concerns the martyrs, who also speak. In the first part he sets forth the distinction of the benefits of God, which God bestows upon this people and which He bestowed upon the former people: showing these to be eternal, but those to have been temporal. In the second part he sets forth the evils which they endure in this life, although in the future they shall have many good things.

But that the just suffer temporal evils in this life stands in contrast to this, that the former peoples were freed from bodily punishments. In the third part he prays to be freed from the evils of this life at the time of the resurrection. The intention is to invite us to patience, lest we be saddened on account of temporal punishments. The voice of the martyrs, showing what good things God did for the ancient fathers, when he says:

O God, we have heard with our ears. It is to be noted by us that he does not merely say, we have heard, but adds, with our ears. The words of prophecy agree with the words which the Lord speaks in the Gospel: He that hath ears to hear, let him hear. Many have ears of the flesh, not of the heart, because they hear outwardly, but do not receive within. Therefore it is said, with our ears, so that what is spoken we may hear with attention and understanding, which are the ears of the heart. And that he might commend these things as worthy of hearing: not just any men, he says, but our Fathers, the Patriarchs and prophets, have declared to us through their Scriptures the work which thou hast wrought in their days. How thou didst deliver them out of Egypt, and lead them through the Red Sea, and keep them in the desert, and other such things. And they have also declared to us the work which thou hast wrought.

In the days of old: what thou didst in the beginning at the creation of heaven and earth, of the things that happened before the flood. And this is the work which thou didst in their days, which our Fathers declared.

Thy hand, that is, thy power and might, destroyed the nations, namely the Amorrhite, the Jebusite, the Pherezite, and thou didst plant them, namely our fathers. This is said from the likeness of a planted tree, which is planted to this end, that it may take root and bear fruit. In this manner thy hand destroyed them, because thou didst first afflict them with many wars, and thus drove them out of their land, that thou mightest bring these in and plant them, and confirm their kingdom by thy mercy. But perhaps they were able to do these things because they were strong, because warriors, because unconquered, because trained. Our Fathers did not indicate this to us. Scripture does not have this. But what does it have, except what follows? For not by their own sword, that is, their armor, did they possess the land, and their arm, that is, their strength, did not save them from their enemies.

For if they could not save themselves from those nations, much less is it agreed that by their own strength they could have possessed their land. Their arm, I say, did not save them: But thy right hand, that is, the favor of thy grace (for often those whom we favor we place at our right hand); And thy arm, that is, thy fortitude, since man has strength in his arms; And the light of thy countenance, that is, prudent counsel, or miracles, which were to them a demonstration of thy countenance, that is, of thy grace and benevolence. What means it that thou wast present to them with such signs, that thou wast understood to be present? For when God is present to us by some miracle, do we see His face with our eyes? But by the effect of the miracle He insinuates His presence to men. Indeed those who marvel at such deeds say: We have seen God present. But thou didst these things for them, Because thou wast well pleased in them.

That is, thou didst so deal with them, as to be pleasing in them, so that whoever observed how they were dealt with would say: Truly God is with them, and God helps them.

But because these things happened to them in figure (as the Apostle says), and were written for our instruction: even the title is placed for understanding. This work of the Lord, which we have heard of the dispersion of nations wrought temporally in the ancient fathers, we also now see fulfilled spiritually in spiritual men. Moses makes mention of these nations, where he says: When the Lord thy God shall have brought thee into the land which thou shalt go in to possess, and shall have destroyed many nations before thee, the Hethite and the Gergesite, the Amorrhite and the Chananite, the Pherezite and the Hevite and the Jebusite: seven nations much greater in number than thou, and stronger than thou: and the Lord shall have delivered them to thee: thou shalt smite them even to utter destruction. These seven nations are the seven spiritual vices, which by the grace of God every spiritual soldier, overcoming, is admonished utterly to exterminate.

But that they are said to be greater in number, this is the reason: because there are more vices than virtues. And therefore in the list indeed seven nations are numbered, but in their conquest they are set down without ascription of number. For thus it is said, And shall have destroyed many nations before thee. For the people of carnal passions is more numerous than Israel, which proceeds from this sevenfold tinder and root of vices. For from gluttony are born feastings and drunkenness; from fornication, filthy talk, ludicrous buffoonery, and foolish talk. From avarice, lying, deceit, thefts, perjuries, the desire for base gain, false testimonies, violence, inhumanity and rapacity. From anger, homicides, clamor and indignation. From sadness, rancor, faintheartedness, bitterness, despair. From accidie, idleness, drowsiness, importunity, restlessness, transgression, instability of mind and body, wordiness and curiosity. From vainglory, contentions, heresies, boasting and presumption of novelties. From pride, contempt, envy, disobedience, blasphemy, murmuring, detraction, and many other like things.

Although these are far more numerous than the virtues, yet when those seven principal vices, from whose nature these proceed, have been overcome, all of them at once subside, and are destroyed together in perpetual annihilation. But that these pests are also stronger, we perceive manifestly by the very contest of nature itself. For the delight of carnal passions wars more strongly in our members than the pursuits of virtue, which are acquired only by the utmost contrition of heart and body. But that we are commanded to possess wholesomely the regions of these pernicious nations is to be understood thus. For each vice has its own station in our heart: but when, with the people of Israel—that is, the virtues—fighting against them, the vices have been overcome, the place which the spirit of concupiscence or fornication held for itself in our heart, chastity will thereafter obtain. What fury had seized, patience will vindicate. What sadness, working death, had occupied, wholesome and full-of-joy gladness will possess. What accidie was laying waste, humility begins to cultivate.

And thus, the several vices being expelled, their places, that is, the contrary affections, will be possessed by the sons of Israel, that is, by souls seeing God. Since therefore Almighty God does not cease to work spiritually now in us what He wrought bodily in the ancient fathers, rightly does the Church say to Him what follows: Thou art thyself my King and my God. Thou art thyself unchanged. Times have changed, the Creator of times does not change. Thou art wont to lead me, as King; thou art wont to help me, as God. Who commandest the saving of Jacob. What is, Who commandest? Even though thou, by thy absolute substance and nature, by which thou art whatever thou art, art hidden: nor by that which thou art didst thou come among the fathers so that they might see thee face to face; nevertheless through whatever creature thou dost command the saving of Jacob.

Not only art thou present through thyself, but through whatever creature thou art present, thou commandest, that this be done for the salvation of thy servants, which those to whom thou commandest do. Thou art thyself, he says, through whom our fathers destroyed their enemies, my King, ruling me spiritually according to good morals and virtues, so that the devil no longer rules over me, nor the vices: neither let sin reign in my mortal body. And my God, because I adore thee, I worship thee, who commandest the saving of Jacob, that is, who by thy saving commands dost save those who wrestle and supplant vices. For Jacob is interpreted supplanter. These things are past: what shall be of the future?

In thee we will winnow our enemies with a horn. In thee, with our horn, that is, in our strength and defense, we will winnow, that is, cast forth and scatter our enemies, both carnal and spiritual: which shall come to pass at the judgment, when the perfect saints, judging, shall separate the evil from the good, just as one winnowing separates the chaff from the grain. This is what the Lord promises his disciples, saying: In the regeneration, when the Son of man shall sit on the seat of his majesty, you also shall sit, judging the twelve tribes of Israel. Then shall be fulfilled what is now added: And in thy name we will despise those who rise up against us.

Now they despise us, because we cry out thy name, because we leave vengeance to thee, because we are humble and poor for thy name's sake: but in that very name in which we have believed, those who now rise up against us to persecute us we shall in the future despise as conquered, as vile and reprobate. And well he says, in thy name.

For I will not hope in my bow, that is, in my own cunning. The bow shoots from afar. Therefore by the bow is signified human providence or prudence. He hopes, as it were, in his own bow, who trusts in his own sense, and leans upon his own prudence. Hence it is written: Woe to you who are wise in your own eyes, and prudent in your own sight. Against which Solomon admonishes us, saying: Have confidence in the Lord with all thy heart, and lean not upon thy own prudence. He does not hope in his own bow, therefore, who does not trust in his own sense and his own prudence. And my sword, that is, my armor, my strength, shall not save me. Just as our fathers also were not saved by the sword. These are the two things in which the men of this world trust greatly: in their own cunning, and in strength. But this one places all his salvation in God, when he adds:

For thou hast saved us from those who afflict us. He puts the past for the future. For it is the custom of the prophets to foreknow certain future things so surely as to hold them as if they had already passed. As if he said: Thou wilt save us in the future from those who now afflict us for thy sake. And thou hast put to confusion those who hate us, that is, thou wilt put to confusion and make ashamed those who persevere in hating us, by showing them the evils they have done, the loss of the good things they have lost, the eternal punishments with which they are to be punished. O how fierce, how harsh shall be the confusion for those to whom it shall be said: Amen I say to you, I know you not. And, Depart, ye cursed, into everlasting fire.

The enemies having been confounded, In God we will be praised all the day. Then there shall be one day, one eternity. Then there shall be praise for each from God. We shall praise and be praised: we in thee, and thou in us. And in thy name, that is, to the honor of thy name, We will confess to thee for ever: for it is written: Blessed are they who dwell in thy house, O God, forever and ever shall they praise thee. These future things are as certain to us as those past things which we have heard from our fathers. But what now?

But now thou hast cast us off, that is, thou seemest to have cast us off, in that thou permittest us in the present to be afflicted and confounded—not in our conscience, but in the sight of men—and thou wilt not go forth in our armies. We advance against our enemies, and thou dost not advance with us: they prevail, we are weak. Where is that power of thine? Where is thy right hand and thy might? Where the sea dried up? Where the Egyptians who pursued, enveloped by the waves? Where Amalek, who resisted, overcome by the sign of the cross? And thou wilt not go forth in our armies.

Thou hast turned us back after our enemies. So that they are, as it were, before, we behind: they to be reckoned victors, we the vanquished. And they that hated us plundered for themselves: they plundered us as their prey: dragging some, scourging others, casting some into prison, killing others.

Thou hast given us up as sheep to be eaten, and hast scattered us among the nations. By the nations some of us were devoured. Those are meant who suffered in such a way that they were absorbed into the body of the nations. The Church laments them as devoured members. Or they were scattered among the nations, when Peter was crucified at Rome, Thomas died in India, and countless martyrs were slain in countless places. The Lord Jesus also foretold their dispersion when he said: If they persecute you in one city, flee into another.

Thou hast sold thy people for no price. As it were for no price was the people of the holy martyrs sold, when such precious blood was shed that no one, by their example, was turned to redemption and salvation. So much at times were the holy martyrs held for nothing, so much were they thought lost, that those who killed them even reckoned they were rendering service to God thereby. So then they were given up as for no price, when they were slain, and gained no one. And if there were any who were converted, they were few in comparison with the martyrs. And what he adds: And there was no multitude in their exchanges. Namely of the martyrs, who died for the increase of thy name: or in their exchanges, when the martyrs were being slain, there was no multitude of congregations who served God together in churches, in monasteries, in various orders, as we now see in time of peace.

For they were hidden because of the persecutions, and they were divided one from another: so that they might hide better, lest, if many were together, they should be found and seized more quickly.

Thou hast made us a reproach to our neighbors. So great was our persecution, that to our neighbors, that is, to those who were drawing near to the faith and inclining their minds toward it, we became a reproach. For seeing our death so shameful, they drew themselves back from the faith. And thou hast made us: A scorn and derision to those that are round about us. Those who surround us, to seize and kill us. Scorn is done through the nose, derision through the mouth.

Thou hast made us a byword among the nations. This is to make into a byword, when men cursing give a comparison from the one they detest: "Mayest thou die thus, be punished thus, as he was." Even to this day the enemies of Christ, the Jews, are not lacking, against whom, when we defend Christ, they say to us: "Mayest thou die as he died." For they would not have inflicted that death, if they could have understood the merit of martyrdom. Thou hast also made us a shaking of the head among the peoples. The shaking of the head is a sign of insult. Hence it is said elsewhere: They spoke with their lips, and shook the head. This they did to the Lord. This to his saints, whom they were able to persecute, to seize, to mock, to betray, to afflict, to kill.

All the day, that is, continually my shame at such great reproaches is against me, that is, before my sight. And the confusion of my face has covered me. This is said by way of comparison, because when we are confounded and blush, our face is covered with the redness of blood. What shame comes upon me,

At the voice of him that reproacheth, that is, on the part of one resisting, and reviling, that is, secretly detracting, or speaking against the truth; at the face of the enemy, that is, at the presence or the pressing on of the enemy, in the will of one persecuting, in the act. What understanding is here? The things that are past are not being done in us. The things that are future, and that we hope for, do not appear. Past: the people led out of Egypt with great glory to thee, freed from those pursuing, led through nations, the nations expelled, established in the kingdom. What of the future? The people to be led out of this Egypt of the world, with Jesus Christ as leader, and, he appearing in his glory, the saints to be set at his right hand, the wicked at his left, to be condemned with the devil to eternal punishment: the kingdom is to be received by us from Christ forever with the saints. These things future and past: in the middle, tribulation.

Why? That it may appear how much the soul that worships God worships him: that it may be seen whether it worships God freely, from whom it received salvation freely. Therefore, that this faith of ours, by which we are purified, may be prepared for invisible things, that is, for understanding, all these things were done for the sons of Core, that what they had might be taken from the saints, and even this temporal life itself taken away: so that they might not worship the Eternal One for the sake of these temporal things, but might, by his chaste love, endure all these things which they suffered for a time. Finally, because the sons of Core understood this, what do they say?

All these things have come upon us, yet we have not forgotten thee: and we have not dealt unjustly in thy covenant. According to thy commandments we conducted ourselves. Amid so many adversities, we have not departed from thee, neither in faith nor in deed. Great constancy and perfection of the martyrs is commended here. What are we to say of ourselves in comparison? For if even a slight word of injury is offered us by anyone, we straightway blaze into anger, we lose our minds, we speak like madmen, we seek vengeance, if we can; if we cannot, we carry hatred in our heart (which is the poison of the devil). We forget God: we forget charity, patience: we deal unjustly in the covenant of God, having become transgressors of his commandments. We read these things written, therefore, so that we may attentively consider how much the holy martyrs endured for the love of God, and, considering our own frailty and impatience, may lament and correct it. But let us still hear what they say.

And our heart has not turned back. But we always stretch forward to the things that are before, hastening toward the promised prize. When the heart is raised up in hope, it becomes patient in tribulation. By thinking on eternal rewards, temporary torments are easily despised, and when the way of life is loved, the way of the world is at once shunned. Hence it is also added: And thou hast declined, that is, thou hast made to decline, our paths; the paths of carnal thoughts, desires, pleasures; from thy strait and narrow way, which leads to life. This is a commendation of divine grace. Whoever enters the way of the Lord, lest he glory as though of his own righteousness, ought to bring back to memory his own past ways, and consider from how many evil concupiscences and desires, from how many negligences and pleasures, the merciful Lord freed him through his grace. Hence the Apostle Paul says: I who was a blasphemer and a persecutor: but I obtained mercy.

The Lord declines our paths from his own way, when, with his help, we do what is written: Decline from evil, and do good. In this, then, thou hast declined our paths.

For thou hast humbled us in the place of affliction, that is, in this world, in the time of our pilgrimage. Because God humbled us by affliction, therefore he turned us aside from our pride: so that, humbled, we might leave our own paths, and follow the ways of the Lord. And from that humiliation the shadow of death has covered us. Not true death, but a shadow: not the death of the soul, but the death of the flesh: the shadow of death, carnal mortality: true death, damnation with the devil. It was said above, For we have not forgotten thee. For we would have no health, unless thou didst seek us out. And this is what he adds:

If we have forgotten the name, that is, the honor of our God, so as to fall away from the faith: And if we have spread out our hands to a strange god, to be venerated and worshipped, who neither created us, nor did any good to us: and if we are idolaters,

Will not God require these things? But he will not require them from us. For he himself knows the hidden things of the heart. He himself knows that we have not forgotten him: which appears from this, that we are ceaselessly put to death for his sake. And this is what he adds, Because for your sake we are put to death all the day long. That is, continually. Many labor in this world, many are afflicted, many die for some other reason, not for God. Therefore, being about to say "we are put to death," he rightly prefixed "for your sake": because it is not the punishment but the cause that makes the martyr. Hence blessed Peter says: For what glory is it, if when you sin and are buffeted, you take it patiently? But if doing well and suffering you endure, this is grace with God. For unto this you are called.

Because Christ also suffered for us, leaving you an example, that you should follow his steps, who did no sin, neither was guile found in his mouth. Who, when he was reviled, did not revile again: when he suffered, he threatened not. Fittingly, then, it is added: We are esteemed as sheep for the slaughter, namely, so that we should be reckoned fit for nothing except for slaughter. Rightly are holy men compared to sheep, because they are simple, innocent, having no bite of malice. Hence the Lord instructs his disciples, where he says: My sheep hear my voice. And again: Behold I send you as sheep in the midst of wolves. Moses says to Pharaoh: We shall sacrifice to the Lord our God the abominations of the Egyptians. The Egyptians disdain to eat sheep.

But what the Egyptians abominate, this the Israelites offer to God: because the simplicity of continence, which the unjust despise as base and abject, this the righteous turn into a sacrifice of virtue: and cultivating the purity and gentleness of the upright, they offer to God as a sacrifice what the reprobates, abominating it, think folly. There are two kinds of martyrdom: one of the mind, the other of the body; one manifest, the other hidden. It is manifest when the body is killed for God's sake: it is hidden, when for the love of God vices are cut away. Whence the Apostle admonishes us, saying: Mortify your members which are upon the earth: fornication, uncleanness, luxury. Because, therefore, holy men, while they desire to live to God and die to the world, ceaselessly afflict themselves, macerating the flesh with fasts, washing away faults with tears, extinguishing vices: rightly it is now said in their voice: Because for your sake we are put to death all the day long. We are esteemed as sheep for the slaughter.

But being placed in these tribulations, since they do not trust in their own strength, they ask for the Lord's help, when it is added: Arise, why do you sleep, O Lord? Arise, and do not cast us off forever. To sleep is proper to one at rest, to rise is proper to one fighting, or helping. Christ was sleeping, and the little boat was being covered by the waves. He was roused, the disciples beseech him, he commands the winds and the sea, and a great calm was made. So now too the Church labors amid the perils of this world as if amid the waves of the sea. The Lord as it were sleeps, when he does not rescue. He is roused by entreaties, and helps those laboring. Therefore it asks, Why do you sleep?

Because as long as anyone is permitted to labor, and the Lord does not wish to help, it is uncertain whether this be from wrath, or from mercy: whether he wishes to test and correct him for a time, or to abandon him entirely. For this reason the entreaty is made, when it is subjoined: Arise, and do not cast us off forever, that is, entirely. If you abandon, do not cast off. If you wish that we be troubled, do not wish that we be broken. If you permit that we be tempted, do not allow that we perish.

Why do you turn away your face? As though angry, as though not present, as though you had forgotten us. You forget our need, that for your sake we have left earthly things, and now we are as it were without help, without solace. And do you forget our tribulation? That for love of you we are afflicted, and are not delivered.

For our soul is humbled down to the dust. It is afflicted by those who are unstable and unfruitful, like dust: of whom it is said elsewhere, Not so the wicked, not so: but like the dust, which the wind drives from the face of the earth. And so greatly is our soul humbled down to the dust, that our belly has even cleaved to the earth. He seems to have expressed the punishment of extreme humility, because whenever anyone is prostrated, his belly cleaves to the earth: he has no further point of humbling. Now humiliation has arrived at its summit. Let mercy come as well. The belly of the Church cleaves to the earth, when the weaker and infirm cling to earthly things out of desire. But she mourns for such as these, and prays for them, when she adds:

Arise, O God, help us: and deliver us for your name's sake. Help those laboring, deliver those oppressed: help in us, deliver us from evils: and this not for our merit, but for your name's sake, to be spread abroad and glorified, that you may be known and praised, who are blessed forever. Amen.

Unto the end, for them that shall be changed, for the sons of Core, for understanding, a song for the beloved. This epithalamium, that is, marriage-song, is a canticle, that is, set forth for the delight of hearers. Held for the beloved, that is, for the commendation of Christ, who is the bridegroom of the Church, beloved of the Father, according to that: This is my beloved son. And why the bridegroom is commended, the cause is prefixed, for them that shall be changed unto the end, for the sons of Core. That is, for those who shall be transformed from the body of this lowliness into conformity with the body of Christ's glory: who at first in this life were sons of Core, that is, imitators of the sufferings of the crucified: which canticle is set before the faithful for understanding, that is, to this end, that they may understand the eminence of the divinity and humanity of Christ, who Christ is commended in this psalm both according to his humanity and according to his divinity.

The subject matter in this psalm is the bridegroom and the bride, understand Christ and the Church. This he pursues in this way. In the first part he sets forth the commendation of the bridegroom, that is, Christ. In the second, of the Church. The intention of the prophet in this psalm, introducing God the Father speaking, is to exhort the faithful, that they strive so to live, that they may present themselves as a chaste virgin to one husband (understand Christ): that at the wedding they may sit at the right hand of their bridegroom.

My heart has uttered a good word: I speak my works to the king. The heart of God the Father has uttered a word, because his hidden and divine essence has begotten the Son, who is truly and singularly good, because, as he himself says, None is good, but God alone. For whatever other things are good, are good from elsewhere: and nothing is good of itself, except he alone, who is the supreme good. From these words it is shown that the Word is consubstantial with the Father. And the Father himself says that his works belong to the king, because with his Son he disposes all things: and through this the Son is understood to be omnipotent along with the Father. By the heart, therefore, we understand the divinity of the Father, because just as through a word we make known to someone the secrets of the heart, so through the Son the divinity of the Father has been made manifest. For no one knows the Son except through the Father.

Lest you should think that God needed some union whereby he might beget a Son: My heart, he says, has uttered a good word, that is, from myself eternally I have begotten the Son. Today, O man, your heart begets a plan: yet you do not seek a wife for that. Through a plan conceived in your heart you build something, and before that structure stands, the plan stands, and already there is in it what you are going to make, in that by which you are going to make it. You praise the structure not yet existing, but in the trial of the plan. Therefore if all things are through the Word, and the Word is of God: look upon the structure made through the Word, and in that building marvel at the plan. I speak, he says, my works to the king. Do you marvel that God speaks thus? For God to speak thus is eternal. It is read in another psalm: God has spoken once.

So many times has God spoken through the prophets, through the Apostles, through the doctors: and today he speaks through the saints. Whence then has God spoken once, except on account of a good word! And why, I speak my works to the king? Because in him are all the works of God. For whatever he was going to make in creation, was already in the Word: as it is said in the Gospel, What was made, in him was life. Not only do I dispose all things with the king, but I also make all things through him. And this is what he adds: My tongue is the pen of a scribe. My tongue, that is, the word itself (for the cause is put for the effect) is the pen of my scribe. For just as a scribe imprints figures through a pen, so I work creatures through my Word.

Now creation itself is a kind of Scripture for us, in which we read and recognize God, as the Apostle testifies, who says: For the invisible things of him, from the creation of the world, are clearly seen, being understood by the things that are made: his eternal power also, and divinity. And well does he say, Of one that writes swiftly. Since he himself spoke, and they were made. Swiftly of God is such, that nothing is swifter. For in writings letter is written after letter, syllable after syllable, word after word, nor does one pass to the second, until the first is finished. But there nothing is swifter, where the words are not changed: nor yet is anything set before, since in the One are all things. He has commended the Son according to his divinity, showing him consubstantial and coequal in power with the Father: now he commends him according to his humanity, thus:

Beautiful in form beyond the sons of men. Why not also beyond the angels? What did he wish to say by "beyond the sons of men," except that he was man? Therefore beautiful beyond the sons of men, because free from sin, which no other man ever was. What he says, "Beautiful in form," he says by way of exaggeration: just as it is said, "Life shall live". The Prophet bore the person of the Jews when he said, "We saw him and he had no form or comeliness". Why? Because they did not understand. For if they had known, they would never have crucified the Lord of glory. But to those who understand, even the Word made flesh is great beauty. But God forbid that I should glory (said one of the friends of the bridegroom) save in the cross of our Lord Jesus Christ. It is a small thing not to be ashamed of it, unless you also glory in it. Why then did he have no form nor comeliness?

Because Christ crucified is unto the Jews a stumblingblock, but unto the Gentiles foolishness. But why did he have comeliness on the cross? Because the foolishness of God is wiser than men, and the weakness of God is stronger than men. Let the bridegroom, then, appear beautiful everywhere to us who now believe. Beautiful was God the Word with God. Beautiful in the womb of the Virgin, where he did not lose his divinity, and took on humanity. Beautiful the Word born as an infant, because though he was an infant, though he nursed, though he was carried in arms, the heavens spoke, angels sang praises, a star guided the Magi. He was adored in the manger, the food of the gentle. He was beautiful in heaven, beautiful on earth, beautiful in the womb, beautiful in his parents' arms, beautiful in miracles, beautiful under the scourges, beautiful inviting to life, beautiful not fearing death, beautiful laying down his soul, beautiful taking it up again, beautiful on the wood, beautiful in the tomb, beautiful in heaven.

Hear the song with understanding, and let not the weakness of the flesh turn your eyes away from the splendor of that beauty. The highest and true beauty is grace, the voice of the Prophet turning himself to Christ. Grace is poured out on your lips. The law was given through Moses, grace and truth came through Jesus Christ. He came among us, preaching with the word of grace repentance unto the remission of sins. So great was the grace poured out on the lips of Christ, that at his voice the blind saw, lepers were healed, the lame walked, the dead rose again. Of the outpouring of this grace Paul says: "Where sin abounded, grace did more abound". And John says, "Of his fullness we have all received", grace for grace. And because you are such: Therefore God, your God, has blessed you forever. The first testament had promised the land.

And one thing was promised under the law, another under grace: the land of the Canaanites to the Jews placed under the law, the kingdom of heaven to Christians established under grace. And so that which belonged to those who were under the law passed away; the kingdom of heaven, which belongs to those placed under grace, does not pass away. Therefore here, "God has blessed you," not for a time, but forever: for both here and in the future Christ shall always be blessed. And you, such a king,

Gird your sword upon your thigh, most mighty one. That is, use forcefully the word of your preaching, of which the Apostle says: "And the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God". By "thigh" we understand the Lord's body: because the thighs are the place of generation. He girded the sword upon the thigh, because in the flesh he assumed he preached the Gospel. Hence the Truth says: "I came not to send peace, but the sword". This sword separates son from father, daughter from mother, daughter-in-law from mother-in-law. The father strives with the son, because the son wishes to serve God. The one promises an earthly inheritance, the other seeks the heavenly. The one fights, the other fights back. But the spiritual sword that separates is stronger than the carnal nature that binds. Well does he say, "upon your thigh, most mighty one": because what is weak of God is stronger than men.

Most mightily did he use this sword in the flesh, because he not only conquered men, but also the powers of the air: he not only destroyed vices, but also plundered hell. This sword tames the flesh, cuts off vices, strengthens the spirit, nourishes virtues, consumes evil desires. Behold, our king is girded with his sword. Let us now hear how he fights, how he reigns, with what arms he proceeds:

In your comeliness and your beauty, attend, proceed prosperously, and reign. "Comeliness" can be referred to innocence and holiness of morals; "beauty" to the splendor of divinity. By these Christ attended, that is, he became intent, that he might not act slackly, but proceed prosperously to war, and by conquering reign. Or it can be said: Proceed prosperously from one nation to another, and reign in what you have acquired according to good morals and virtues. It can also be understood thus: Attend to your comeliness and beauty, that you may deign to renew and reform in the sons the image and likeness which you gave to our first parent. Proceed prosperously—go forth prosperously from the virginal womb; rise prosperously from the tomb; return prosperously from the underworld to the Father; for all these things are prosperous and happy for us; and reign over the empire of the whole world, O Redeemer, by your precious blood, because of truth and meekness and justice. For all these things befit a king.

Reign, therefore, you who are true and meek and just. And your right hand shall lead you wonderfully, that is, your strength, virtue, and power. But whither shall it lead you? To the Father. Why wonderfully? Because, having died, you overcame the devil. Or Christ is said to reign because of the truth of the Gospel, and the meekness with which he suffered, and the justice by which he shall judge the good and the wicked. And his right hand shall lead him wonderfully, doing divine things, suffering human things. Laying low the wickedness of men by his own goodness: still it leads him, and where nothing has yet been said of the sword, let it now be said of the arrows. For manifold is the armor of our king.

Your arrows are sharp. Your words piercing the heart, stirring it to love. Whence it is said in the Song of Songs: "I am wounded with love". According to this, the words of God are called arrows, because they secretly draw men to the fear and love of God. According to this, a sword, because by manifest and compelling reason they make men cling to God. And because you are thus equipped for war, peoples shall fall under you. They shall adore you, they shall be humbled before you. And where shall they fall? In the heart of the king's enemies, that is, in that same heart in which before they were hostile to you, the king: where they raised themselves against Christ. Where shall they fall? Before Christ, they blasphemed Christ; now they beg Christ; they call him king himself. They have taken your arrows. They have fallen before you. In the heart where you were once envied, out of enemies friends have been made. The enemies are slain, the friends live.

The proud are laid low, the humble arise.

And they have become: Your throne, O God, is forever and ever. You dwell in them forever: according to what is written, "The soul of the just is the seat of wisdom". The scepter of your kingdom is a scepter of uprightness. This scepter is justice. With such a scepter our king governs his kingdom, which is ourselves. But he does not rule who does not correct. As a priest is for sanctifying us, so a king is for ruling us. The men of his kingdom were bent, they were twisted, they wished to reign for themselves, they loved themselves, they did not submit their will to God but wished to bend his will to their own desires. The King came with the scepter of uprightness. He directed us in justice, he corrected our crookedness according to the rightness of his rule. Of this scepter it is said elsewhere, "You shall rule them with a rod of iron". Iron, because it is hard. Justice is inflexible. It rules some, it crushes others. It rules the spiritual, it crushes the carnal.

Rightly do I say your scepter is one of uprightness, because you

Have loved justice. Both in yourself and in others. And to such a degree that you have also hated iniquity. And that you might be such, therefore God, your God, has anointed you spiritually, that is, consubstantial with you, with the oil of gladness, that is, the Holy Spirit, above your fellows. More than the rest of men, whom you willed to be, together with yourself, sharers of your kingdom. Rightly is the Holy Spirit compared to the oil of gladness, because just as oil nourishes the flesh and drives away pain, so the anointing of the Holy Spirit both soothes gently and makes joyful the mind which it has filled. But with this spiritual oil Christ was anointed above his fellows, because to the rest the Holy Spirit was given in part; but in him dwelt all the fullness of the Godhead bodily.

And it is to be noted that he did not say, "You have done justice," but "You have loved." Nor did he say, "You have left iniquity," but "you have hated." For many do good more out of fear of punishment than out of love of justice: in whom, even though the act seems good, yet the will is held guilty. Who, though by their works they appear just, are nevertheless unjust in this, that they would wish to sin if they could do so with impunity. They abandon wicked works, but still retain depraved desires. Some progress there is in that they do works of justice: but this is not yet sufficient to attain the kingdom of God, because they do not yet have the virtue of justice in their heart. There are, then, two things which truly make one just: love of good, and hatred of evil. Whoever can have these two is worthy of the anointing of the Holy Spirit, which grants health and joy to the soul. God has been anointed by God.

Do you hear "anointed"? Understand Christ. For Christ is named from "chrism." This name by which he is called Christ, belongs to anointing. Nor were kings and priests anointed anywhere else but in that kingdom where Christ was prophesied. God, then, was anointed by God—with what oil, if not spiritual? For visible oil is a sign in the sacrament. Spiritual oil is virtue. God, therefore, being man, and therefore God was anointed, because man was God, and became Christ. We have heard what he was in himself; let it be told to us what he was in his own.

Myrrh and aloes and cassia from thy garments, from the ivory houses. Thou art anointed with oil above thy fellows, and also from thy garments, that is, from thy humanity, or thy Apostles, who adorn and beautify thee, just as a garment adorns the Lord, there proceeds myrrh and aloes and cassia, that is, good odors and good fame. Myrrh is a very bitter spice, with which the body of a dead man is anointed, so that it does not putrefy, and it drives away worms. By this is signified the mortification of the flesh, which is very bitter, and drives away worms, that is, the temptations of the devil, and preserves the body and soul from the putrefaction of vices. Aloes again is a spice which drives away swellings of the lung, and is humility, which drives away inflation and every movement of pride. Cassia is a plant which grows in a watery place, and grows to great height, and gives off a great fragrance.

It is faith, which arises in the waters of baptism, and grows greatly in the just, and gives good fame to others. All these things have come forth to us from the humanity of Christ; or they are present in the Apostles, who set forth all these things to us in themselves as an example. And these same things came forth to us from the ivory houses, that is, from the holy Apostles themselves, who are called houses because the Lord dwells in them; ivory either on account of strength, or on account of the whiteness of simplicity, or because they were cut, carved, scraped, and polished by diverse torments. From these the daughters of kings have delighted thee in thy honor. As if he were saying, on account of these fragrances the individual Churches have pleased thee, whose fathers and rulers the Apostles were, who begot them at the font of baptism, in honor not of themselves, but of thee.

To this sacrament pertains what is written in the law: If a brother should die, let his brother take his wife, and raise up seed for his brother. Christ died; he removed himself in body; his brothers took up his wife, the Church, to beget children by the preaching of the Gospel, not by themselves, but through the Gospel, for the name of the brother. In Christ Jesus through the Gospel I have begotten you. Therefore, raising up seed for their brother for the name of the brother, however many they begot, they did not call them Paulines, nor Petrines, but Christians. This is “in thy honor,” because they did not seek their own honor, but thine. From all these there was made one bride for the king, one queen, of whom it is added:

The queen stood at thy right hand in gilded clothing, surrounded with variety. The Church is called queen for this reason, that she rules her children well. She stood, prepared to serve, at thy right hand, that is, in thy greater goods; in gilded clothing, in the adornment of virtues, where wisdom especially shines forth, which is signified by gold, as it is written: A desirable treasure rests in the mouth of the wise. The clothing of this queen is both precious and varied in various tongues. One tongue is African, another Syriac, another Greek, another Hebrew, and this one and that one. These five tongues make the variety of this queen’s garment. But just as all the variety of the garment agrees in unity, so also do all the tongues agree in one faith. In this garment let there be variety, but not tearing. Behold, we have understood variety to mean the diversity of tongues, and we have understood the garment on account of unity within that very variety. What is the gold? Wisdom itself.

Whatever variety there may be of tongues, one gold is proclaimed, not a different gold, but the truth concerning the gold; indeed all the tongues proclaim the same wisdom, the same doctrine and discipline. Variety in the tongues, gold in the meanings. Let the prophet address this queen, for he gladly sings to her, and so does each one of us; if only we know where we are, and strive to belong to that body, and belong to it by faith and hope, united as members of Christ. For he addresses us.

Hearken, O daughter, and see. He addresses her as one of the fathers would, because daughters are their kingdom: whether the prophet addresses her, or whether the Apostle addresses her as a daughter. (For thus we say: Our fathers the prophets, our fathers the Apostles. Thus we call them fathers, and they call us sons.) And one paternal voice addresses one daughter. Hearken, daughter, and see. First hearken, afterward see. It has come to us with the Gospel, and it has been preached to us, what we do not yet see; and by hearing we believe, and by believing we have seen. Hearken, that thou mayest believe; cleanse the heart by faith. And when I shall have cleansed my heart, what shall I see? Blessed are the pure of heart, for they shall see God. And incline thy ear. That is, hearken humbly. And forget thy people. Namely the sects of the Jews, or of the Gentiles: the legal rites in Judaism, and idolatry among the Gentiles. And thy father’s house. That is, the conversation of the devil.

Or thy father’s house, that is, the vanities of this world, in which, as in his own house, the devil has reigned until now. Whose daughter thou wast, by imitation of evil works.

And the king shall desire thy beauty. That is, thee beautiful, after thou shalt have forgotten those things which have been said. And therefore thou oughtest gladly to hear the things which are commanded thee. Since he who desires thee is not only king and thy spouse, but he himself is the Lord thy God. That is, thy creator and thy ruler. Thou art wedded to God as King, dowered by him, adorned by him, healed, and redeemed by him. Whatsoever thou hast whereby thou pleasest him, thou hast from him. These things which have been said concerning the Church, each one of us can refer to himself. The soul which, having abandoned error, rightly believes, is adopted as a daughter by God from being a foreigner. Being adopted, therefore, let her incline her ear, and give herself wholly over to the doctrine and understanding of the things that are said. Let her first forget her people, and, going out with Abraham from Chaldea, let her leave the land of her birth and kindred.

No one doubts that our father, before we were adopted by God, was the one of whom the Savior says: You are of your father the devil. When, then, he says, thou shalt have forgotten thy ancient father, and shalt be renewed by baptism, or by penitence, then the king shall desire thy beauty. Let the soul, then, show herself such that she may be loved by the king. For he himself is the Lord thy God to whom she ought to bend the knee, and, laying aside pride, take up the yoke of humility. And they shall adore him also.

And the daughters of Tyre with gifts. The daughters of Tyre are the daughters of the Gentiles, signifying the whole by a part. Tyre, neighboring this land where the prophecy was given, signified the Gentiles who were to believe in Christ, who adored the Lord with gifts, according to what is written: Lay up for yourselves treasures in heaven. And give alms, and all things are clean unto you. Tyre is interpreted “anguish,” and signifies sinners, whom the devil pressed down. Therefore the daughters of Tyre adore the Lord, namely the sinners whom the devil bound with tight chains. And this with gifts, because they offer themselves to the Lord. Thy face shall they entreat. That is, they shall devoutly beseech God to give them the power to attain to conformity with thee. All the rich of the people, that is, the wholly rich, whether consuls, or generals, or kings, or emperors.

Concerning such rich men Paul admonishes his disciple, saying: Charge the rich of this world not to be highminded, nor to trust in the uncertainty of riches, but in the living God, who gives us all things abundantly to enjoy. Let them be rich in good works, let them give readily, let them lay up for themselves a good foundation for the future. After he has shown the dignities of the Church, he commends her as praiseworthy according to her inward parts, saying:

All the glory of the king’s daughter is from within. Hence Paul says: This is our glory, the testimony of our conscience. The foolish virgins did not take oil with them, because they did not have glory within their conscience, since they sought it from the mouth of their neighbors. And it is to be noted that all are said to have lamps, but not all are said to have oil, because for the most part good works are shown outwardly, both among the elect and the reprobate, but only those come to the bridegroom with oil who seek glory, not outwardly, but inwardly, for the things they have done outwardly. It is necessary, then, not only to do good, but also to guard the same with great care, so that he who glories may glory in the Lord. And she is that daughter of the king, In golden borders, clothed about with varieties. She is indeed clothed about with varieties, because faith, hope, charity, prudence, justice, fortitude, temperance surround her on every side.

But these virtues, together with golden borders, are in the Church, since wisdom and knowledge and the brightness of miracles depend upon them. Borders are placed for ornament upon garments. So, as it were, out of the varieties of the garment golden borders proceed, when out of the virtues miracles shine forth.

Virgins shall be brought to the king after her. Many others follow after the apostolic and primitive Church that precedes them: virgins, that is, those whole in both soul and body, shall be brought to the king, to serve him. And in this it is noted that they cannot come by themselves to that dignity, unless they are brought by preaching and by the help of grace. Hence the Bridegroom himself says: No one can come to me, unless my Father draw him. Here there is a turning to the King himself, when it is added, Her neighbors shall be brought to thee. For those who shall be brought are not strangers, but her neighbors, belonging to her. By virgins we can understand those souls which, always keeping the integrity of the flesh, have served the heavenly Bridegroom in their virginity, and these are in the first rank.

There are others, who, if not virgins, are nevertheless continent, who, although they are not in the same rank, are yet neighbors; because after the fall of the flesh they have striven to keep the continence of the mind. Among these neighbors is included the order of the married, who have kept themselves from union with another. These, then, who follow the Church, and are placed in the first rank, who persevere in virginity of body and soul, and the neighbors, that is, widows, and those continent in marriage: all,

Shall be brought in gladness and exultation, because even in the present Church the saints greatly rejoice in the purity of their conscience. And of this, then: They shall be brought into the temple of the king, that is, into the heavenly Jerusalem. They shall be brought into the temple as priests of God, into the bridal chamber as brides of the King and of the Bridegroom. Or they shall be brought into the temple, that is, to this end, that they may be the temple of the king, so that the Lord may dwell in them as in a temple. According to what Paul says: The temple of God is holy, which temple you are. In unity is the temple of the king. The living stones are the faithful of God. This temple is not ruinous, not torn apart, not divided. The joining together of the living stones is charity. Led, then, by grace, they shall be brought into the temple of the king, into the unity of perfect charity, where they may be able to praise God forever.

Then he addresses the Church, saying:

Instead of thy fathers, sons are born to thee. The Apostles begot thee. They were sent, they preached, they are the fathers, they have been received into glory; and in their place sons have been born; bishops have been established. Do not, then, think thyself deserted, because thou dost not see Paul, because thou dost not see those through whom thou wast born. From thy offspring thy fatherhood has grown for thee. Sons have been born to thee for thy work. Thou shalt make them princes, that is, thou shalt make them stable in faith and work. Rulers, masters, and teachers. Over all the earth. That is, the Church spread through all parts of the earth. And because the Church is thus ordered and confirmed, therefore

I will be mindful of thy name, O Lord. That is, I will keep the memory of thy fame and glory in every generation, spread through all the earth: and then unto the generation following. Therefore also the peoples who are to come, seeing so great a glory of thy Church, shall confess to thee, that is, shall praise thee, as its author and governor, forever, through this whole present life. Not because this life is eternal, but according to their intention and devotion: for if they were always to live, here they would always praise. And unto the age that follows this age. O happy those who shall deserve to praise the Lord unto the age of ages!

Our God is refuge and strength. He who is, is God of all by power, but ours by will and grace, is to us a refuge, that is, a security. And because there are many refuges which are not safe, he therefore adds, And strength, a strong, unconquerable refuge. There are certain refuges where there is no strength, whither when anyone has fled, he is rather weakened than strengthened. When you flee (for example) to some great man in this world, that you may make for yourself a powerful friend, it seems a refuge. Yet the affairs of this world are so uncertain, and the evils of the powerful daily so increase, that when you have fled to such a refuge, you begin to fear more there. For before you feared only for your own case; but when men have fled to such refuges, when those to whom they fled fall, they themselves are also sought out, whom no one would have sought, had they not fled to such refuges.

But our refuge is not of this kind, but our refuge is strength itself. When we shall have fled thither, we shall be safe. And it not only defends us from enemies, but is also our helper, so that we not only may not be conquered, but may be able to conquer others: in the tribulations which have found us exceedingly. For we would be troubled beyond what the frailty of the flesh could bear, unless we were helped by the aid of divinity. It is one thing to find tribulations, another to be found by tribulations. We find tribulations when we sustain them already foreseen. But they find us when they seize us unaware. Weapons strike more heavily which have not been foreseen. Since, therefore, the holy martyrs sometimes suffered such torments as they could not even have imagined beforehand, they declare that they are exceedingly found by tribulations. Exceedingly is that which cannot be thought of, or borne.

But because they receive help and strength from Almighty God, remaining unconquered and undismayed amid these very excessive torments, they say:

Therefore we will not fear, while the earth is troubled, and the mountains are carried into the heart of the sea. A little before anxious, and suddenly secure from exceeding tribulations, set in great tranquility. To fear nothing is great tranquility in the mind. Let the earth be troubled, let the sea be troubled, let all the elements be troubled: the servant of God remains fearless. Now the sea signifies this world, in comparison with which sea, the people of the Jews seemed as it were land. For it was not covered with the bitterness of idolatry, but was as it were dry ground, itself surrounded by the bitterness of the Gentiles as by a sea. It was to come to pass that the earth would be troubled, that is, that same people of the Jews, and the mountains would be carried into the heart of the sea. And first that great mountain prepared on the top of the mountains.

For he deserted the people of the Jews, and was made present among the Gentiles, carried over from land to sea, the Apostles being the ones who carried him over, to whom he had said: If you have faith in you as a grain of mustard seed, you shall say to this mountain, Be removed and cast into the sea, and it shall be done. That is, through your most faithful preaching it will come to pass that this mountain—that is, that I myself—shall be glorified among the Gentiles, recognized among the Gentiles, preached among the Gentiles: and that which was foretold of me shall come to pass. A people which I have not known has served me. But when were the other mountains also carried over, and let the Scripture of God show us this. When the Apostle was preaching, the Jews rejected the word, and the Apostle Paul said: We were sent to you: but because you have rejected the word of God, we go to the Gentiles.

Thus were the mountains carried into the heart of the sea. Truly the Gentiles believed the mountains, so that those mountains were in the heart of the sea, not like the Jews, of whom it was said, This people honors me with their lips, but their heart is far from me. For this the Lord promises in the New Testament through the Prophet, saying, I will give my laws in their hearts. These laws, these precepts, instilled through the Apostles into the faith and belief of all the Gentiles, are called mountains carried over, from mountains into the heart of the sea. Then we shall not fear, we who are pierced in heart, lest we should become of the number of the reprobate Jews, as of broken branches. For they believed and came to the Apostles. Let those fear, then, whom the mountains have deserted. We have not withdrawn from the mountains: and when they were carried into the heart of the sea, we followed.

What now follows from the fact that the mountains were carried into the heart of the sea? Attend and see the truth. For these things, when they were spoken, were obscure, because they had not yet occurred: but now who does not recognize the accomplished facts? Let the divine page be a book to you, that you may hear these things. Let the whole world be a book to you, that you may see these things. In these codices men do not read unless they know letters. In the whole world let even the unlearned read. What, then, has happened, while the mountains were carried into the heart of the sea? Their waters sounded, and were troubled. When the Gospel was preached: What is this? This one seems to be an announcer of strange demons. This the Athenians said. But the Ephesians, with what tumult did they wish to kill the Apostles, when in the theater, for their Diana, they made so great an uproar that they cried out, Great is Diana of the Ephesians.

Amid these waves and this roaring of the sea they who had fled to that refuge did not fear. Finally, the Apostle Paul wished to enter the theater, and was called back by the disciples: because it was still necessary for him to remain in the flesh for their sake. But nevertheless their waters sounded and were troubled. The mountains were troubled at his strength. Whose strength? Was it the sea's, or rather God's, of whom it is said, Refuge and strength, a helper in tribulations which have found us exceedingly? For the mountains were troubled, that is, the powerful of this world. For there are some mountains of God, and other mountains of the world. Of the mountains of the world the devil is head; of the mountains of God, Christ is head. But through these mountains those mountains were troubled. Then they gave laws against Christians, when the mountains were troubled. With the waves sounding, the mountains also were troubled, and there was made a great earthquake with the waters stirred up.

But to whom does this happen? To that city founded upon the rock. Let the waters sound, let the mountains be troubled, the Gospel being announced. What of you, city of God? Hear what follows:

The rush of the river makes glad the city of God. When the mountains are troubled, when the sea rages, God does not desert his city, on account of the onrush of the river. What are these onrushes of the river? That flooding of the Holy Spirit, of which the Lord said: He who thirsts, let him come and drink. He who believes in me, rivers of living water shall flow from his belly. Therefore these rivers flowed from the belly of Peter, of Paul, of John, of the other Apostles, of the other faithful Evangelists. These rivers, flowing from one river, many onrushes of the river gladdened the city of God. For that you may know this was said of the Holy Spirit, in the same Gospel the Evangelist consequently says: But this he said of the Holy Spirit, which those who were to believe in him were to receive. But the Spirit was not yet given, because Jesus was not yet glorified.

Jesus having been glorified after the resurrection: glorified after the ascension, on the day of Pentecost the Holy Spirit came, filled the believers, they spoke in tongues: they began to preach the Gospel to the Gentiles. Hence the city of God was gladdened, while the sea was troubled with the noise of its waters, while the mountains were troubled, seeking what to do, how to drive out the new doctrine, how to root out the race of Christians from the earth. Against whom? Against the onrushes of the river gladdening the city of God.

And it follows: The Most High has sanctified his tabernacle. If, then, the term "sanctification" follows, it is manifest that those onrushes are to be understood of the Holy Spirit, by which every pious soul believing in Christ is sanctified, that it may become the city of God. One river is one Spirit, which is divided into seven horns, which are the spirit of wisdom and understanding, the spirit of counsel and fortitude, the spirit of knowledge and piety, and the spirit of the fear of the Lord. The same Holy Spirit is called a river: because it extinguishes the concupiscences and burnings of the flesh. But it is called a rushing river, because no one resists it. The Church is called a city, either on account of the concord of its inhabitants, or on account of the fortification of virtues, or because it has a law and a king. This city the Spirit gladdens so greatly, that it glories even in tribulations. It is also called a tabernacle, because in it warfare is waged for the Lord.

And this tabernacle is sanctified through the Spirit. For everyone who has the Holy Spirit is holy: and he who does not have this cannot be holy. Not only does God gladden and sanctify his Church, but he is also in the midst of it, lest it be moved from good to evil. And this is what he adds:

God is in the midst of her, she shall not be moved. Is God, then, encircled by place? What is encircled is broad; but he who is encompassed is in a narrow space. Far be it: think nothing of this sort about God, who is contained by no place; whose seat is the conscience of the pious. And thus the seat of God is in the hearts of men, that if a man should fall away from God, God remains in himself: not as though he fell, by not finding where he is. For rather he lifts you up, so that you may be in him, when he presses upon you: so that if he should withdraw himself, you would fall. If you withdraw yourself, he does not fall. What, then, does "God is in her midst" mean? This signifies that God is equal to all, and accepts no person. For just as that which is in the middle has equal distances to all boundaries, so God is said to be in the midst, providing equally for all.

He is in the midst, that is, in common: because he is set forth equally to all. Or for this reason, because he is the column which sustains all the parts of the house. And he not only sustains it lest it fall, but also God will help her to work well: in the morning, that is, in the beginning of conversion; at dawn, that is, in the illumination of the Holy Spirit. Morning is properly said before light. Dawn is when the day first arises. When for the sins which we have committed, we hasten to penitence or to conversion: having left darkness we draw near to light; this is our morning. But after morning, dawn comes: because through the beginning of conversion one arrives at the origin and light of virtue. But since this does not come about by our own powers, but by divine aid, it is rightly said now: God will help her in the morning early at dawn.

And the Church is not only firm, because God is in her midst: but through her preaching others also have come to conversion. Whence it is added:

The nations were troubled. A good trouble, unto repentance, and the kingdoms bowed down. And the princes or the regions were humbled. According as it is written: And all kings shall adore him, all nations shall serve him. And whence did this come to pass? It follows and says: He gave his voice, that is, his preaching, and the earth was moved, that is, earthly men to conversion. This is that voice of which the same Psalmist says elsewhere: The voice of the Lord in power: the voice of the Lord in magnificence. This voice he gave through the apostles, and the earth was moved from unbelief to faith, from vices to virtues, from the devil to God. Who is it that gave his voice? Let the Apostles say, let the Church say, let the renewed people say:

The Lord of hosts is with us: the God of Jacob is our protector. Who is not moved by this voice? Who does not tremble with joy? Who does not marvel at so great a grace? The Lord of hosts, the Lord of angels, he himself is with us in the flesh. He has been received by us, and he has received us. He took on our humanity, he took us up into his divinity. He was made a partaker of our mortality, that he might make us partakers of his immortality. Let Christians, therefore, say what Jews, or Pagans, or Heretics cannot say: The Lord of hosts is with us. This too he himself had promised through his Prophet, saying: And I will dwell and walk among them, and I will be their God, and they shall be my people. Hence Truth itself says to his Disciples: Behold, I am with you even to the end of the age.

The Lord of hosts himself, and the God of Jacob, himself gives strength to those who are spiritually Jacob, that is, who wrestle with the flesh, and who supplant vices. For Jacob is called a supplanter. And because this grace is admirable and salutary, inviting and admonishing all, he adds:

Come, and see, that is, believe, and understand the works of the Lord, which he has wrought for us. Let us go, says the Church, let us forget the things that are behind. Let us pass over from earthly things to spiritual things: and with the eyes of the heart let us see what wonders he has set, that is, as a sign. For they are called wonders, in which something other is signified than is seen: upon the earth, that is, upon earthly men. What are these?

Taking away wars even to the end of the earth. For he made peace between God and man: and he took away idolatry, and the worship of the old law, through which Jews and Gentiles were at discord, and he made both one. And that peace of God toward men was not in one land alone, but even to the ends of the earth. For from the rising of the sun to its setting the name of the Lord is worthy of praise. The Lord also takes away wars in us, when he extinguishes rebellious vices. Whence it is added: He will break the bow, and shatter weapons, and burn shields with fire. The bow, weapons, shields, fire. The bow is treachery. Weapons are open assault. The shield is the vain protection of presumption. The fire by which these are burned is that of which the Lord says: I have come to cast fire upon the earth. And of which fire he says in the psalm: There is none who can hide himself from its heat.

While that fire burns, no weapons of impiety will remain in us. It is necessary that all be shattered, crushed, burned. You remain unarmed, having no help of your own, and the weaker you are, having no weapons of your own, the more he takes you up, of whom it is said: The God of Jacob is our protector. For you were strong, as it were, through yourself: you are troubled within yourself. Lose the weapons in which you trusted. Go to the Lord, who says: My grace is sufficient for you. Say you too: When I am weak, then I am strong, is the Apostle's word. He had lost all weapons as of his own strength, who said: But I will not glory, except in my infirmities. But when the Lord takes us up, does he leave us unarmed? He arms us, but with those weapons of Gospel truth, of continence and salvation, of faith, hope, charity. These weapons we have, but not from ourselves.

But the weapons which we had from ourselves have burned; yet we have been kindled by that holy fire. First we were invited to see the works of the Lord. Now the Lord himself invites us to see himself, saying:

Be still, and see that I am God. You have seen my works. Now prepare yourselves to see the Artisan himself. And that you may be fit for this: Cease from earthly things: be still from evils. Let there be no tumult in the mind. Let all be peaceful, all cleansed. For blessed are the pure of heart, for they shall see God. For this reason we have already left behind the hindrances of the world and the cares of the age, and have come to the seclusion of the monastery: that we might more freely be still for God, not for those things in which our adversary delights. For it is certain that when we are idle and negligent, when we do not lift up our mind to heavenly desires, when we grow cold in the love of God, when we spend the day in idle tales, in wicked thoughts: then we are more free for the devil than for God. This is signified by what is written: Her enemies have seen her, and mocked at her sabbaths.

Sabbath is called rest. And our sabbaths are mocked by enemies, when the evil spirits see us given over to idleness and vanities. Let us therefore strive to have that which the Lord most desires in us, that is, a mind free from all malice, and, avoiding those things by which the Holy Spirit is offended, let us devote effort to humility, quiet, and charity; that what is said may be fulfilled in us: Be still, and see that I am God. For thus shall we deserve to see God, if we first strive to cease from unlawful things, and to be tranquil in mind. A little before I had said that by the name "earth" the nation of the Jews is signified. By the name "sea," the other nations. The mountains were carried into the heart of the sea. The nations were troubled, kingdoms were bowed down, the Most High gave his voice, and the earth was moved. The Lord of hosts is with us, the God of Jacob is our protector.

Miracles have been wrought among the nations, faith is fulfilled among the nations, the weapons of human presumption burn, one is at rest in tranquillity of heart, that God may be known as the author of all his gifts. And after their glorification, does he then forsake the people of the Jews? Of whom the Apostle says: For I say to you, that you may not be wise in your own conceits: that blindness in part has happened in Israel, until the fullness of the Gentiles should come in, that is, until the mountains should be carried over here, that the clouds should rain here, that the Lord by his thunder should here bow down kingdoms, until the fullness of the Gentiles should come in. And what afterward? And so all Israel would be saved. Therefore here too, keeping the same order, he says: I will be exalted among the nations, and I will be exalted in the earth. That is, in the sea, and on the land: so that now all may say what follows:

The Lord of hosts is with us, the God of Jacob is our protector. The Lord our God has poured out for us in many and varied ways, through his books, his Scriptures, the faith by which we live, and from which we live. Varying indeed the mysteries of the words, yet commending one faith. For one and the same thing is thus expressed in many ways, not that the manner of speaking itself should be varied out of weariness, but that it should be held as one through harmony. And so in this psalm, which we have heard sung, to which we have responded in singing, we are about to say those things which you know. And yet perhaps, with God's help and gift, we shall bring you some sweetness, when those things which you had known elsewhere and elsewhere, being reminded, you now chew over again.

For in that very act of rumination, by which God signifies clean animals, he wished to convey this: that every man who hears should so lay it up in his heart as not to be slothful in thinking upon it: so that when he hears, he may be like one eating. But when he recalls what he has heard to memory, and turns it over with sweetest thought, let him become like one chewing the cud. But in another way the same things are said, and they make us think sweetly upon what we already know, and gladly hear the same things again: because the manner of speaking is varied, and the ancient matter is renewed by that very manner of speaking.

The title of the psalm reads thus: Unto the end, for the sons of Core, a psalm of David himself. This psalm belongs to David the prophet, who here speaks in the person of the Apostles. I say the psalm is set forth for the sons of Core, directed through this unto the end. The subject is Christ ascending. Or the subject is the converted Gentiles, namely the very sons of Core, who are the sons of Christ. In the first part he admonishes us all to the praise of God. In the second part he describes the kingdom of Christ through his ascension. His intention is to invite us to the praises of God. The psalm is sung for the sons of Core. Therefore it is sung for Christians. Let us hear it, then, as sons of that Bridegroom whom senseless children crucified in the place of Calvary. Those indeed deserved to be devoured by beasts; we, to be crowned by angels. For we recognize the humility of our Lord, and we do not blush at it.

We do not blush at him being called, in a mystical sense, "bald," because of the place of the skull. For the very cross, on which he was mocked, has not permitted our forehead to be bald, which it has marked with its sign. Finally, that you may know that these things are said for us, see what is said.

O clap your hands, all ye nations. Were all nations the people of the Jews? But blindness in part happened in Israel, so that senseless children cried out, Bald head, bald head: and so the Lord was crucified in the place of Calvary, and by his shed blood he redeemed us, and what the Apostle says was fulfilled: Blindness in part has befallen Israel, until the fullness of the Gentiles should come in: let the vain, the dull, and the senseless mock, then, and say, Bald head, bald head. But you, redeemed by that blood (1 Peter 1), which was shed in the place of Calvary; O clap your hands, all ye nations, since grace has come to you. What is "Clap"? Rejoice. But why with hands? Because with good works. If only with the voice, it is not well: because the hands are idle. If only with the hands, this too is not well, because the tongue is mute. Let the hands and the tongue agree. Let the one confess, let the other work.

Shout unto God with a voice of joy, that is, conceive so great a praise of God in the mind that it cannot be expressed by voice: and so let that jubilation be in a voice of exultation. That is, praise God not only with the heart, but also with an exultant voice. Announce him to others. And he adds the reason why he is to be praised, saying:

For the Lord, because he has dominion over all creatures: is most high, because he is powerful and effective in his will. And lest you trust in his goodness while doing evil, because he himself will be a terrible judge: he will punish the wicked, and is king, because he rules his own spiritually through power. Great over all the earth: because there is no part of the earth where he does not have dominion. He who seemed small and despised has become terrible and exalted: and he who was only in the kingdom of the Jews now reigns over all the earth. It does not suffice him to have only one nation under him: therefore he gave so great a price from his side, that he might purchase the whole world. Therefore, by the voice of the preachers, it is added:

He has subdued the peoples, that is, the Jews, unto us, and the nations under our feet. He says "under our feet," that we may understand the complete humility of those subjected. For thus the Lord has ordained the Church, that he willed some to be prelates, others subjects. Whence also in another psalm those subjected say: You have set men over our heads. It is the office of prelates to preach, to admonish, to correct, and to hold the place of Christ in the Churches. It is the office of subjects to hear, to obey, to show all subjection to their prelates as to the Lord Christ himself. For when they say, He has subdued the peoples unto us, they do not say this in their own person, but in the person of him whose ministry they exercise. Hence Peter admonishes some, saying: Be subject to every human creature for the Lord's sake (1 Peter 2). That subjection which is done for God's sake is shown not so much to men as to God.

In this, therefore, that the holy preachers say, He has subdued the peoples unto us, and the nations under our feet: it is in no way to be understood as though they wished to claim this for themselves: since the Apostle Paul rebukes some who wished to be subject to him as to a man, saying: Was Paul crucified for you, or were you baptized in the name of Paul? Not, therefore, in this word do they seek to commend themselves, but rather him whose authority was in them: to whom obedience was rendered through them, rather than to themselves. In whose voice it is further added:

He chose for us his inheritance. That is, he chose the nations to be joined to us as an inheritance. Or, he chose for us, that we, standing in his place, might cultivate the inheritance, removing the thorns of vices, plowing with the plowshare of discipline, sowing the seeds of virtues. In that it says, "He chose," the divine grace is commended. According to what the very author of grace says to his own: "You have not chosen me, but I have chosen you". Which grace is even more declared, when it is added: The beauty of Jacob whom he loved. There were two brothers, Jacob and Esau; and before they had done anything either good or evil, the Lord said: "Jacob I have loved, but Esau I have hated" (alachi 1). By Jacob, therefore, are understood those elect by grace.

Thus the Lord chose the beauty of Jacob whom he loved: not because Jacob was beautiful at the time he was chosen, nor was he loved on account of a beauty he already possessed; but that beauty which he was afterward to give through grace, he already loved in Jacob. Thus he chose for himself the Church, not having spot or wrinkle, not because she was spotless when she was chosen, but he chose her foul in order to make her beautiful. Then he shows in what order the nations were chosen, when he adds:

God has ascended in jubilation. For after the ascension the Holy Spirit was sent upon the Apostles, and the Gospel was preached to the nations, and thus they were chosen. What is jubilation, but the wonder of a joy which cannot be explained in words? How did they marvel, rejoicing, seeing him go into heaven whom they had mourned as dead? Truly words did not suffice for this joy. What remained was to shout for joy—something no one could explain. There too was the sound of the trumpet, that voice of the angels. For it is said, "Lift up your voice like a trumpet". The angels proclaimed the Lord's ascension. The disciples saw the Lord ascending, clinging, wondering, astonished, saying nothing, but rejoicing in their hearts. And now the voice of the trumpet was in the clear voice of the angels: "Men of Galilee, why do you stand looking up into heaven? This is Jesus". As though they did not know that he was Jesus. Had they not just seen him before them a little while before?

Had they not heard him speaking with them? Indeed they had not only seen his form present, but had touched his limbs. Did they then not know that this was Jesus? But out of wonder in the joy of jubilation, as if out of their minds, the angels say, "This is Jesus." He, at whose crucifixion your feet wavered. When he was killed and buried, you thought you had lost hope. Behold, this is Jesus. He goes up ahead of you: thus he will come, just as you have seen him going into heaven. His body indeed is taken from your eyes, but God is not separated from your hearts. Therefore you sons of Korah, if you have now understood yourselves, and look upon yourselves here, and rejoice because you see, here you

Sing praises, doing well, to our God—that is, to the honor of our God: sing with the mind. And he is not only to be praised in that he is God, but also in that he is man. Nor is he just any man, but a king. And so he adds: Sing praises to our king, sing praises. Praise is to be sung to God, because he created us. Praise is to be sung, because he redeemed us. This king is God, is man: God before the flesh, God in the flesh. To whom also therefore praise is to be sung:

For God is king of all the earth. What then? Was he not God of all the earth before? Is he not God of heaven and earth? Since all things were made through him, what could say that he is not its God? But not all men had acknowledged their God, and where he was acknowledged, it was as though God were there only. "God is known in Judea". Not yet had the sons of Korah said, "Clap your hands, all nations." Now he is acknowledged by all, because what Isaiah says has been fulfilled: "He himself, your God, who delivered you, shall be called God of the whole earth." Therefore he adds: Sing praises wisely, that is, do good works, not for earthly things, lest you be like the foolish virgins, who took their lamps but did not take oil with them in their vessels. For by them are signified souls who live continently, and who do the good works signified by the lamps.

But while thereby they seek to please men, they neglect to have oil in their vessels, that is, the brightness of glory in their consciences. Such people seem to sing praise to God in that they do good works, but they sing foolishly, because they lose those same good works through vainglory. To sing praises wisely, then, is to do right things, and to wish to please God alone by those very right works. Nor is it without purpose that "sing praises" is said so many times. By repeating it, he presses it home, to rouse the sluggish: also the frequent repetition of the same word is an excessive expression of delight. Or we may refer the fivefold "sing praises" to the five bodily senses: namely, that we should turn sight, hearing, taste, smell, and touch to good use. Then he shows how he is king of all the earth, when he adds:

God has reigned over the nations. And lest anyone understand this to mean that he reigns even in evil, God sits upon his holy throne. That is, he so reigns among the nations that he nevertheless remains among the saints. Hence it is written, "The soul of the just is the seat of wisdom". Where the devil used to reign, now Christ reigns. That one reigned through pride, through luxury, through wrath, and through vices. This one reigns through humility, through chastity, through gentleness, and through the other virtues: so that we are no longer slaves of sin, but free servants of justice. If we do these things, we shall be the kingdom of God, and the throne of God. He explains how it came to be that he reigns over the nations.

The princes of the peoples are gathered together with the God of Abraham. As if he were to say, Kings and other powers, who were formerly opposed to God, have been gathered together through faith with the God in whom Abraham believed. Among those princes was that centurion, whose faith is commended in the Gospel. See how what John says was fulfilled: "God is able from these stones to raise up children to Abraham". Were not the nations stones, when they worshipped stones, just as is said of them elsewhere in the psalm: "Let those who make them become like them"? And so they came to the faith, For the mighty gods of the earth—that is, the Apostles and holy preachers: gods by grace, mighty by faith—are greatly exalted: in signs and mighty works. And thus it came to pass that many are begotten to the faith.

A psalm of a canticle for the sons of Korah, on the second day of the week. This psalm is presented for the sons of Korah, that is, for the sons of Christ, who was crucified in the place of Calvary. For Korah (as has often been said) is interpreted "Calvary." This psalm is called "of a canticle," because it treats a matter for which we ought greatly to rejoice: for it sets forth the great dignity of the Church. This psalm, I say, is held to be for the second day of the week, that is, concerning the founding of the Church, which is signified in the founding of the earth, which took place on the second day. For on the first day light was separated from darkness: in which is signified the resurrection of Christ, whereby the light of immortality was separated from mortality. On the second day the firmament was made, in which is signified the time after the resurrection, in which the holy Church was founded.

In the first part he describes her, and commends her in many ways: now through her founder, now through the place set for her, now through her spreading abroad. He also praises her from her gifts. Also through this, that certain ones wishing to destroy her, recognizing her dignity, were converted to her. Then he commends a certain outstanding gift of hers, namely that the mercy of God dwells in her. In the second part he treats of the ranks of this Church. His purpose is to exhort all to enlarge this city. The voice of the perfect.

Great is the Lord and greatly to be praised. That is, of great empire and great power. And thence worthy of praise beyond what tongue can express. And that he is great and to be praised is best weighed, In the city of our God, that is, in the building of the Church, which is fortified by virtues, made ample by charity, gathered together through faith to live rightly. Nor is such a city one of Babylon, that is, of the confused or of heretics, but it is of our God. Hence he commends the Church through God the artificer. The city, I say, set on his holy mountain. That is, in Christ, or on the mountain of the virtues, or of steadfastness. This city is possessed by such a lord. It is built of such stones, that is, of Jews and Gentiles. And this is what he adds:

It is founded in the exultation of the whole earth. That is, it has been firmly built of the inhabitants of the whole earth exulting over the remission of sins: or it is founded in the exultation of the whole earth, that is, unto the exultation of all believers. And he pursues this point by point, when he adds: Mount Sion, the sides of the north, the city of the great king. Mount Sion, in which was the head of the kingdom of the Jews, signifies the Jews themselves. By the sides of the north are designated the Gentiles, who, sluggish with the cold of unbelief, were possessed by the devil. Because the north wind binds things in cold, it is not incongruous that the numbness of the evil spirit be understood by the name of the north. Isaiah also testifies to this, who reports that the devil said: "I will sit on the mount of the covenant, on the sides of the north".

The evil spirit held the mount of the covenant, because he subjected the Jewish people, who had received the law, to perfidy under himself. He still presides over the mount of the covenant, when he holds the hearts of the doctors; he also sat on the sides of the north, because he possessed the cold minds of the Gentiles. Whence also in the Song of Songs it is said in the voice of the bridegroom, "Arise, north wind, and come, south wind; blow through my garden, and its spices shall flow". For when the north wind departs, that is, the evil spirit, the Holy Spirit fills minds like the south wind. And when it blows, warming them, at once from the hearts of the faithful the spices of the virtues flow. Such men become the city of the great king, men freed from unbelief and the superstition of demons, who, believing in Christ, have been joined together into that city. They met at the corner of the wall, coming from the circumcision.

And they who had been the sides of the north became the city of the great king. Whoever cling to the devil are the sides of the north. Let them cling to Christ, and they shall be of the city of the great king. In these things is the great glory and honor of the Almighty. For it is a great glory of the physician when the sick man recovers from despair. There follows another commendation:

God shall be known in her houses, when he shall take her under his protection. In the houses of that city, that is, in each of the faithful, who are called houses, because the Lord dwells in them, God shall be known: because they themselves shall have knowledge of God, when he shall take her under his protection and defense against enemies. Or it is said "in houses" because of the two walls of Jews and Gentiles. But grace is commended, where it says, "When he shall take her under his protection." For what would this city be, unless he had taken her up? Would it not fall at once, unless it had such a foundation? Let no one, then, glory in his own merits. But "let him who glories, glory in the Lord". Now see how those sides of the north come.

For behold, the kings of the earth are gathered together. Behold, the kings and powers of this age have gathered together from many places, from many peoples: they have come together into one: the corner stone, which makes one out of many.

They themselves seeing thus, understanding the city of God so founded, so built, so comely, so firm: marveled. After the wonder at the miracles of the Church of Christ. They were troubled over their sins: they were moved to repentance. Trembling seized them. Out of fear of the wrath to come. The order of the words is to be noted. First they saw, and in seeing they marveled: then, coming to themselves, they are troubled and tremble.

And you do likewise. Let the eyes of your heart be opened. And see and admire the glory of this city of God. Consider with how many virtues she abounds, with what miracles she gleams, how she despises earthly things: with what desires she yearns for heavenly things, how great in the future shall be her reward and blessedness. Weighing and admiring such things, return to yourself, bewail your sins. Fear greatly the strict judgment of God, tremble within yourself, that you may be able to be united with this blessed people, of whom it is added: There pains, as of a woman in labor. In that disturbance and trembling the pains were fruitful, as of a woman in labor. For the old man brought forth the new. A woman when she gives birth has sorrow. But after she has borne the child, she no longer remembers the anguish, for joy that a man is born into the world. So the sinful soul, when it repents, suffers great pain, feels great anguish within itself.

But after it has received the fruit of repentance, that is, absolution and remission of sins, it no longer remembers the anguish of penitence, for the joy of salvation. From fear (says Isaiah) we have conceived, and been in pain, and have brought forth the spirit of salvation. Thus therefore the kings conceived from the fear of Christ, so that in giving birth they brought forth salvation. And that those pains were fruitful was not from their own merits, but from the grace of God. And therefore it is added:

In a vehement spirit thou shalt break the ships of Tharsis. According to Jerome, Tharsis is the same as Carthage. Now the beginnings of the kingdom flourished in the ships of Carthage, to such an extent that among other nations they excelled in trade and navigation. And hence that city became exceedingly proud, so that fittingly by her ships is understood the pride of the nations, presuming upon uncertain things as upon the blowing of winds. But in a vehement spirit the ships of Tharsis shall be broken, because by the power of the Holy Spirit all the elations of this world are destroyed. This vehement spirit drives away all the breezes of temptations, disperses all the clouds of thoughts. It calms all things in the mind; it blows where it wills, and it changes whom it wills: it crushes vices, it nourishes virtues. Now this constitution of the Church was not made unpremeditated, but was prophesied long before, and now has been fulfilled. And therefore it is added:

As we have heard, so have we seen in the city of the Lord of hosts. Rightly is he called the Lord of hosts, because he rules over Angels, Archangels, Thrones, Dominations, and all the hosts of the heavens. And so great a Lord, who reigns in the Angels, does not disdain to reign in us. Therefore it is straightway added: In the city of our God. He who is the Lord of hosts, he himself is also our God, that is, the Lord and God of angels and of men. All one city, of all one Lord and God. What is this that we have heard, and have seen? It follows and says: God hath founded it—not for a time as the Synagogue, but forever. To found is of God, is to establish unchangeably. O blessed Church! At one time she heard, at one time she saw. She heard in promise, she saw in fulfillment. She heard in Prophecy, she saw in the Gospel. All things that are now fulfilled were prophesied beforehand.

Now he founded his city by sending his Son, that whoever believes in him should not perish, but have eternal life. And the Savior himself was made our mercy. Concerning whom, to the praise of the Church itself, it says to that same Lord:

We have received, O God, thy mercy in the midst of thy temple. Well is the Son of God called mercy, because through him God has had mercy on us. Of whom also it is said in another psalm: My God, my mercy. If he only forgave sins, Christ could have been called merciful. But since he not only forgave faults, but moreover gave eternal life to the undeserving, he is fittingly called not only merciful, but mercy itself. He is rightly said to be placed in the midst, because he holds himself equally toward all, both toward the noble and the ignoble: both toward the unlearned and the wise: as it is written, Whosoever shall call upon the name of the Lord shall be saved. And again: But as many as received him, he gave them power to become the sons of God. Well therefore is it subjoined:

According to thy name, O God, so also is thy praise unto the ends of the earth. As thy name, O God, is spread abroad everywhere in the earth, so also thy praise proceeds and grows even unto the ends of the whole earth. For there is no land in which the name of Christ has not been heard. And truly there shall be many just who shall praise thee; for thy right hand is full of justice. Because through thy omnipotence thou hast already converted many just ones. Many are they who shall stand at thy right hand. Not only shall there be many who shall stand at the left: but there shall be the fullness of the mass established at the right. And therefore

Let mount Sion rejoice, and let the daughters of Judah exult. That is, both peoples, Judaea and the Gentiles. Why? Because of thy judgments, O Lord. For thou art to judge the living and the dead, and to separate the chaff from the grain: and if now thy elect suffer many troubles, still placed among the evil, because thy judgments are not yet distinguished: then indeed shall there be full joy, and perfect exultation, when after the judgments given they shall hear: Come, ye blessed of my Father, receive the kingdom prepared for you from the foundation of the world. By mount Sion, therefore, are understood the Jews, because as has already been said above, there is the head of the kingdom. The daughters of Judah are not undeservedly taken as the Gentiles, but because of the confession of faith. For Judah means confession: and all the daughters of confession are daughters of Judah.

Hence the Apostle says: For he is not a Jew, who is one outwardly, neither is that circumcision, which is outward in the flesh: but he is a Jew, who is one inwardly, and circumcision is that of the heart, in the spirit, not in the letter; whose praise is not of men, but of God. Be such a Jew: glory in the circumcision of the heart. Others are admonished to be converted, when it is added:

Surround Sion, and embrace her. Surround her by faith, by works, by good morals, and embrace her with the sweetest embraces of charity. Surround her not with scandals, but with charity, so that those who live well among you, you may imitate them: and by imitation of them may be incorporated into Christ, whose members they are. Tell it in her towers. That is, being set up in the height of her fortifications, preach her praises. Hence another prophet admonishes, saying: Get thee up into the high mountain, thou that bringest good tidings to Sion. For he must not preach the word of God who still, by living perversely, lies in the depths. Whence it is written in another psalm: But to the sinner God hath said: Why dost thou declare my justices, and take my covenant in thy mouth? But thou hast hated instruction. Therefore, in towers and on the high mountain the divine word must be told. It is just that he should live loftily who preaches lofty things: that life should agree with doctrine.

Fitly, therefore, it is subjoined:

Set your hearts on her strength. The strength of this city is the very force of charity. Nothing is stronger than this power, of which Solomon says: Love is strong as death. For as when death comes, it cannot be resisted by any arts, by any medicines; so against the violence of charity the world can do nothing. Hence Paul says: Who shall separate us from the charity of Christ? Shall tribulation? Or distress? Or persecution? Or famine? Or nakedness? Or danger? Or the sword? I am sure that neither death, nor life, nor things present, nor things to come, nor any creature shall be able to separate us from the charity of God, which is in Christ Jesus our Lord. Where charity reigns, cupidity does not reign, nor pride, nor anger, nor envy, nor luxury, nor the other vices. Charity extinguishes vices, it nourishes virtues. It is itself the virtue of virtues, and (so to speak) the soul of the virtues.

As flesh cannot live without a soul, so the remaining virtues, without charity, can have a shape, but cannot have truth. And as the soul animates the body, so charity gives life to the other virtues. For through charity humility flourishes, chastity shines: through charity obedience serves, patience conquers. Thus each single virtue draws its whole appearance, its whole strength, from nowhere else but from charity. Set therefore your hearts on her strength: and distribute her houses, that ye may tell it in another generation. Two houses are to be understood: one from the uncircumcision, the other from the circumcision. It was arranged that the Apostles should distribute, that is, distinguish, these houses. When Saul had been called, and had become Paul, meeting in unity with his fellow apostles, he came to this agreement with them: that they should go to the circumcision, he to the uncircumcision.

By this dispensation of their apostleship they distributed the houses of the city of the great king, and, agreeing in the corner, they divided the Gospel by dispensation, but bound it together by charity. The houses of this city are also distributed through diverse regions, through diverse congregations, through diverse orders, through diverse merits. This distribution of houses has, in heaven, a distinction of rewards. Whence the Savior says, In my Father's house there are many mansions. As now there are diverse houses of grace in one city, so then there will be diverse mansions of glory in the same eternity. But what is it that is commanded to you, O holy Apostles, that you should tell it in another generation? It follows and says:

For this is God, our God unto eternity, and unto the age of ages: he shall rule us forever. We are the other generation. Truly other, because new. These things were prophesied in the carnal generation, preached and fulfilled in the spiritual generation: it is told to us, therefore, that this God, who is so great and so worthy of praise, is our God—not for a time, but forever. O sweet joy! Ineffable gift! The Jews had the God of heaven, but not forever, because they rejected him. The Gentiles had many gods—of bronze, of wood, of stone, of gold: but not forever, because they were of corruptible matter: of whom it is written, The gods that have not made heaven and earth, let them perish from the earth, and from those things that are under heaven. For all the gods of the Gentiles are demons: but the Lord made the heavens. He is the Lord our God forever, who shall reign both in this age and in the age to come.

He himself, and no other, shall rule us forever. If he is our God, he is also our king. He protects us, because he is God, lest we die. He rules us, because he is king, lest we fall. Now in ruling us he does not break us. For those whom he does not rule, he breaks. Of those whom he rules, it is written: Thou shalt rule them with a rod of iron. Of those whom he does not rule, it is immediately added: And like a potter's vessel thou shalt break them. Let us, therefore, wish to be ruled and delivered by him, here, forever, unto ages of ages.

Men generally murmur, who for this reason wish to worship God, that it may be well with them here, when they see those who do not worship God prospering and flourishing in earthly happiness: while they themselves, who worship God, labor in straits, in fastings, and the other difficulties of human mortality. Against this disease the divine word speaks to us in this psalm.

The title is thus: Unto the end, for the sons of Core, a psalm of David. This psalm belongs to David the prophet, who speaks here, set forth for the sons of Core to understand. The subject-matter is Christ, the Redeemer not of the wicked, but of the just. Or the subject-matter is contempt of the world. In the first part he sets forth a prologue, for the commendation of the matter he is about to speak of. In the second part he sets forth Christ the Redeemer, not of the wicked and of the lovers of the age, but of the just, and in the same part, reproving their folly, he notes the vanities to which the lovers of this age are intent. In the third part he admonishes the poor who are just, not to be concerned about those rich, because their riches will quickly perish.

Now the Apostles or Prophets in this psalm intend, addressing all who exist in the faith, both from the Jews and from the Gentiles, both free and slaves of whatsoever condition, to exhort them away from the desire of earthly things toward the love of heavenly things. And thus there will be nothing to fear in the day of judgment. Now in the first place they make many attentive: both because they speak to them prudently, that is, morally; and because in parables; and also because they will learn that inwardly from the Master presiding within, and what they will preach to others by voice, they will fulfill in deed.

Hear these things, all ye nations; give ear, all ye that inhabit the world. When I say, Give ear, this means, do not hear in passing. If then, as there is, there is some distinction between "Hear" and "Give ear," so there is some distinction between "all nations" and "the inhabitants of the world." For he wishes us to understand more significantly what he says, "All ye that inhabit the world": that by nations we understand all the wicked; but by inhabitants of the world, all the just. For he who inhabits is not held fast. But he who is held fast, does not inhabit, but is inhabited. These words were to be heard not only by sinners and the impious, but also by the just. Now all hear indiscriminately, but when it shall come to the rendering of account, those who heard without cause will be separated from those who gave ear. Let sinners, then, hear. This is what he says: Hear these things, all ye nations.

Let the just also hear, who did not hear without cause, and who rule the earth rather than be ruled by the earth. And this is what he adds: Give ear, all ye that inhabit the world. And again he says:

All ye sons of earth, and sons of men. When he says "sons of earth," he refers to sinners. When he says, "and sons of men," to the faithful and the just. You see, then, that this distinction is maintained. Who then are the sons of earth, but the sons of the earth? Who are the sons of the earth? Those who seek earthly inheritances. Who are the sons of men? Those who belong to the Son of Man. We have already at some point distinguished these things for your holiness. And we have found that Adam was a man, but was not a son of man. And Adam himself was not God; but Christ was both Son of Man and was God. Whoever belongs to Adam, are sons of earth; whoever belongs to Christ, are sons of men. Yet let all hear. I withhold my discourse from none. Is one a son of earth? Let him hear on account of the judgment. Is one a son of man? Let him hear on account of the kingdom.

Together in one, the rich man and the poor. Again the same things are repeated. What is said, "rich," pertains to the sons of earth. But "poor," to the sons of men. Understand by "the rich," the proud; by "the poor," the humble. Let one have many riches of money—if he is not puffed up by them, he is poor. Let one have nothing, yet desire and be inflated—God reckons him among the reprobate rich. And both the rich and the poor, the Lord examines in the heart. The Prophet indicates that he is about to say things not small, since he makes such a summons of all. And he sets forth the reason why he ought to be heard, when he adds:

My mouth shall speak wisdom, and the meditation of my heart, understanding. Wisdom is the knowledge of divine things. Understanding concerns the instruction of morals. And here the prophet, or the Apostles, announce wisdom, where they proclaim Christ the Son of God, the Redeemer of all the just. They instruct morals, when they teach that these earthly things are not to be desired, and that the riches of the rich are to be disregarded. Now they declare that they have said these things not with mere lips, but meditated, so as to render their hearers more attentive. They assert too that they hear and speak these things not of themselves, but from the inward Master, namely the Holy Spirit, when he adds,

I will incline my ear to a parable; I will open my proposition on the psaltery. To incline the ear to a parable is to hear that same parable humbly. Which they do not hear, who do not do what they say: such were the Pharisees, of whom the Lord says that they sit upon the chair of Moses. But he who is a teacher and not a hearer profits another, but does not profit himself. But those who do, and thus speak, hear what they say. And therefore they fruitfully say what they hear. Such was this holy man. Who first hears the parable humbly, so that, instructed by the inward Master, he may then open his proposition on the psaltery. Parables are similitudes of things, which are compared to the things being treated of. Propositions are questions, in which there is something that must be resolved by disputation. Why does he hear a parable? Because we now see through a glass in a dark manner, as the Apostle says.

As long as we sojourn here away from the Lord, that vision of ours face to face is not yet, where there are no longer parables nor enigmas nor similitudes. An enigma is an obscure parable, which is understood with difficulty. If then we see in an enigma, let us incline our ear to the parable. And thus let us open our proposition on the psaltery. Let us hear what is said, let us do what is commanded. "I will open" (he says) "my proposition on the psaltery," because what I propose to make manifest in this psalm, I will do not only in word but also by example: so that what I teach by mouth, I may fulfill in deed. For the psaltery, in which the strings are struck by the hands so that the melody, that is, the psalm, may be heard, we have already often said signifies good work. To open a proposition on the psaltery, then, is to demonstrate in works the words that are set forth. I will incline my ear to a parable.

As if to say, I will hear within me the Holy Spirit speaking, and declaring the things that are to come in parables and propositions. I will incline then and humble my ear to this parable, nor shall I be among those of whom it is said: Woe to the prophet who prophesies out of his own heart. But afterward I will open my proposition on the psaltery. For the prophet has heard, and he shows what he heard in this psaltery of the psalm, saying:

Why shall I fear in the evil day? That is, in the day of judgment. Someone says, Because you have committed theft, murder, or some other grave sin. Not on that account, he says, shall I fear. Why then shall I fear? There follows and he says, The iniquity of my heel shall surround me, that is, the final iniquity. That is, it shows me damnable from every side. It is not, then, so much the iniquity as the end of the iniquity that is to be feared. For it is not he who has lived wickedly, but he who has finished his life in wickedness, who is to perish. If then he shuns the iniquity of his heel, and walks in the way of God, he will not fear, so as to reach the evil day. Why then shall we fear in the evil day? Or why do we not amend ourselves before the evil day comes? It was commanded to Eve that she should watch the head of the devil, because the devil watches her heel.

Eve is our flesh. Through the flesh man more easily falls. If then the iniquity of the heel shall surround us, why shall we fear in the evil day? For we have it in our power, with the Lord's aid, not to commit iniquity; or if we have committed it, to amend it.

And so there will be nothing to surround us. And in the last day we shall not fear, but shall rejoice.

Who then are those whom the iniquity of their heel shall surround? They that trust in their own strength, and glory in the multitude of their riches. Woe to you, Jews, who trust not in Christ but in your own righteousness. Woe to you, rich, who glory in your riches. You must fear that which is added in the psalm:

A brother does not redeem: shall a man redeem? Who is this brother, but Christ, who saved the rest of the brethren? Whose type that Joseph held, who freed his brothers from famine? This brother, after his resurrection, said to someone: Go, tell my brethren. Our brother wished to be our Lord, by assuming our nature. For Christ, who is called and is the Son of God, is called our brother. Therefore if Christ does not redeem, shall man redeem? If he who is God and man does not redeem, will another redeem, who is a mere man? By no means. Hence, "He shall not give God his appeasement." An evil man will not be able to appease God, neither by offering, nor by prayer, nor by sacrifice. Hence Paul says: If we sin willfully, there is now left no sacrifice for sin. For as long as a man is in the will to sin, he cannot appease God with any gifts, any sacrifices, any good works. And therefore he adds:

And the price of the redemption of his soul, he shall not be able to give. For alms is not pleasing to God from him whose will is still held fast in guilt. And he shall labor forever, and shall live still unto the end. He who was delighted for a time in riches shall labor forever in torments. He shall desire to die, but shall not be able. He shall live only for this, that he may always labor. Woe to you, evil desire, how wickedly you deceive your lovers.

He shall not see destruction when he shall see the wise dying. The wise are seen to die. They observe temporal death, but do not foresee the future ruin of damnation. They are wont for the most part to say such things as: Did not that wise man die? If a man who understood something could accomplish anything, he would not die. Let me then do well for myself, while I live. These are they who, thinking pleasure to be the highest good, cling to all the delights of the body. These are they who say, Let us eat and drink, for tomorrow we die. The Jews saw Christ hanging on the cross, and despised him, saying: If he were the Son of God, he would come down from the cross: not seeing what destruction is. He was dying temporally, that he might live again forever. They were living temporally, about to die forever. Of whom it is soon subjoined: The senseless and the fool shall perish together.

The senseless man is he who does not believe in the future punishment. The fool is he who, though he believes, yet does not take heed. Beware then of senselessness; beware of folly; foresee the future destruction. Make to yourselves friends of the mammon of iniquity. Go to the ant, and learn wisdom (which gathers in summer, whereof it may live in winter), and you shall not perish forever. But these shall perish together, and shall leave their riches to strangers. All the wicked leave their riches to strangers, whether they be sons, or parents, or neighbors, to whom they leave them. Yet in this they are strangers, because they cannot assist them from their own riches.

And their graves, that is, pyramids and mausoleums, which they build as though great houses, as though those graves ought to be their houses forever. They are received into precious tombs, and are wrapped in precious garments; they are buried with ointments and spices. Then what sort of memory do they have? Their dwellings shall endure from generation to generation, they have called their lands after their own names. Their house and family, even to the third and fourth generation, praise them and sacrifice to them. He touches upon the custom of the Gentiles, who on appointed days would hire certain persons to invoke the names of the dead around their burial place. In which the prophet notes their great folly, because while they thought by these means to have an everlasting memory, yet they did this only in their own lands.

Or otherwise: their dwellings, that is, houses of stone, which they built from their riches, in which they dwelt for a time, enduring in the generation of their sons and the generation of their grandsons; they have called their lands after their own names, that is, they were the cause why their names might be held in memory. And not everywhere, but in their own lands, that is, in their own neighborhood. All this pertains to the reproving of the vain exaltation of the rich, that they should not spend their effort on great buildings, since in the end they possess nothing of them but a grave. Now they do this for this reason, that they have lost their understanding. And this is what he adds:

Man being in honour, did not understand. What greater honour could be given to man than reason and understanding, and the likeness of God? Placed in so great an honour, he did not understand, that is, he did not act intelligently: but Is compared to senseless beasts. Not according to anything else but according to folly, and in action Is made like unto them. Because as beasts are inclined toward the earth, and are obedient only to the belly, so lovers of the world are given over only to earthly things:

This way of theirs is a stumbling-block to them. This way, according to which they were in honour and did not understand, seeking only earthly things, shall be a stumbling-block to them, that is, an offense which will lead them to destruction. Let it be a stumbling-block to them, not to you. When will it be to you? If you should think that such men are blessed. But if you understand that they are not blessed, their way will be a stumbling-block to themselves, not to Christ, not to his members. And afterwards they will be well pleased in their own mouth. When they have become such that they seek nothing but temporal goods, they will praise themselves, pleased with themselves. Or, afterwards they will be well pleased in their own mouth, when they shall say at the judgment, Lord God, open to us. But then it will be wept over, as follows: Like sheep they are laid in hell, death shall feed upon them.

For, made into a flock, shorn of their riches, and stripped by a great multitude of black spirits, they will be led away into darkness. And deservedly, they who refused to have Christ as their shepherd shall be fed upon by death, and devoured by the ravening wolf.

And the just shall have dominion over them in the morning. For they shall be their judges at the judgment. And their help, which they have in this world, shall grow old, that is, shall fail, in hell, away from their glory, that is, on account of this, that they gloried in their riches. Rightly it is said, Their help shall grow old away from their glory, because their glory and riches will be able to afford them no help in hell.

But God will redeem my soul from the hand, that is, from the power, of hell, when he shall receive me. That is, my humanity. Now for the just there is labor, pressure, tribulation: in hope, the true joy is yet to come. Now those who open their eyes to worldly gladness, and close their heart, their happiness passes away, and punishment comes. On the contrary, the temporal punishment of the just passes away, and eternal happiness comes. Therefore the Spirit of God rouses us when he adds:

Be not afraid, when a man shall be made rich. And not only when he himself shall be made rich: but, when the glory of his house shall be increased. That is, the honour of his riches. Do not despair, nor think that he is loved by God because he abounds in riches, and that you, because you are poor, are abandoned by God.

For when he shall die, he shall take nothing away. Do you see him living? Consider him dying. Do you attend to what he has here? Attend rather to whether he takes it with him. He has much gold, much silver, many estates, many slaves, and other things besides. When he shall die, he shall not take it all. Neither shall his glory descend with him. What will rotting flesh have in the tomb? What will the lost soul have in hell? Therefore his glory shall not descend with him, because in his life he sought temporal glory. This is what follows:

For his soul shall be blessed in his life. For those who count these temporal things as great, when they see certain men flourishing in this world with honours and riches, are wont to praise them and call them blessed: just as it is said elsewhere in the psalm: For the sinner is praised in the desires of his soul, and the unjust man is blessed. And again, They have called the people blessed that hath these things. Therefore his soul shall be blessed in his life, but in death it shall be tormented, and shall feel eternal punishment, he who followed after transitory glory. He shall give praise to thee, when thou shalt do well to him. It belongs to the perfect to praise the Lord in adversity. But the reprobate praises only in prosperity. Does gain come to him? He gives praise. Does an inheritance come? He gives praise. Does loss come? He blasphemes. And therefore it is added:

He shall go in even unto the generations of his fathers. Who are their fathers, but the devil and his angels? Whence the Lord says to certain men: You are of your father the devil. But the offspring of the devil are all the reprobate. Hence through John it is said: Generation of vipers, who shall show you to flee from the wrath to come? Therefore he shall go in unto the generations of his fathers, because he shall perish together with the reprobate in the eternal fire. And even unto eternity he shall not see light. For he shall be cast into outer darkness, where there shall be weeping and gnashing of teeth. Every one that doeth evil hateth the light. Because therefore, while he lived, he loved darkness, therefore he shall never see light. And that he has lost the light of the heart, is shown when it is added:

Man, when he was in honour, did not understand: he is compared to senseless beasts, and is made like unto them. The repetition of the sentence is a confirmation: or he repeats it because on this verse chiefly hangs the intention and the usefulness of the psalm. Defend, O man, your honour. Do not abandon the understanding which God gave you, to this end, that you might perceive divine things, love eternal things, despise earthly things. Use understanding, use reason, despise temporal things, that you may deserve to attain to heavenly things.

The God of gods, the Lord, hath spoken, and called the earth, from the rising of the sun to the going down thereof. Not any man whatsoever, nor any angel whatsoever, has spoken, but the very God of gods himself, namely our Lord Jesus Christ, who is the worker and deifier of the saints, just as he himself says elsewhere to certain saints made gods by grace: I have said, you are gods, and all of you sons of the Most High. Hence the Apostle says, He gave them power to become sons of God. And again: We are the sons of God, but it doth not yet appear what we shall be. This one, so great and of such a kind, has spoken through angels, through prophets, through himself, through his faithful ones, and called the earth; that is, the men dwelling on the earth. And not in one land only, but from the rising of the sun to the going down thereof.

For the Holy Spirit was given to the Apostles, and it was said to them, Go, preach the Gospel to every creature. And because the preaching began from Jerusalem, it is rightly added:

Out of Sion the loveliness of his beauty. Hence another prophet says: The law shall go forth from Sion, and the word of the Lord from Jerusalem. From there began to be preached the loveliness of beauty, that is, the beauty of the divinity of Christ. He is beautiful in form above the sons of men, of whom it is also added:

God shall come manifestly: our God, and shall not keep silence. Before, he came hidden, he appeared weak in the flesh. There was the beauty of glory in his divinity, but this lay hidden in his humanity. For if they had known, they would never have crucified the Lord of glory. Therefore he came hidden, that he might be judged. He shall come manifestly, that he may judge. And this is what he says, And shall not keep silence. Now he is silent as to judgment, hidden in heaven. He is patient toward sinners, not exercising wrath, but awaiting repentance. I have held my peace, he says: shall I always hold my peace? And it is to be noted that he says, our God. For he is not God who is not our God, For all the gods of the Gentiles are devils, but the God of the Christians is the true God. But that he will come to judgment, the following words teach, when it is said: A fire shall burn before him.

For he will come to judge the world by fire. Hence the Apostle says: The fire shall try every man's work of what sort it is. Let those who have not yet tasted the sweetness of God, if they do not yet desire the face of God, fear at least the fire. Let punishments terrify him whom rewards do not invite. Is what God promises worthless to you? Tremble at what he threatens. Every tree that bringeth not forth good fruit shall be cut down, and cast into the fire. Otherwise: Christ comes to judgment, and then the fire of evil concupiscence shall burn, and shall consume the reprobate, who shall be in his sight: because they shall see him whom they pierced. And a mighty tempest shall be round about him. That is, the angels, because as a mighty tempest blows away the chaff into the fire, so they will blow the wicked into hell. A mighty tempest is about to winnow so great a threshing floor.

By this tempest shall be that winnowing, whereby every unclean thing shall be separated from the saints: from the faithful, every pretense; from the pious and those who tremble at the word of God, every scorner and proud man. Therefore, when the Lord comes to judgment, what will he do?

He shall call the heaven from above. By heaven is to be understood all the saints and the perfect, whom he will summon above to sit, to judge along with him. And the earth, to judge his people. He will call heaven, that it may judge with him. He will call the earth, that it may discern his people from the wicked people. Hear the calling of the earth, and the discerning of his people: Come, ye blessed of my Father, receive the kingdom which has been prepared for you from the foundation of the world. Receive, I say. Why? For I was hungry, and thou gavest me to eat. Behold why they are called earth: namely, on account of the fruitfulness of good work. If these could not be heaven, by despising all things, at least they were good earth, by doing the fruit of mercy. Then the prophet, seeing future things as though present, exhorts the angels gathering together. For the Lord shall send his angels, and all nations shall be gathered together before him.

Gather ye together his saints to him from the diverse parts of the world. And not such saints as insist upon carnal observances, but such as order and set forth his new testament above the legal sacrifices. For those sacrifices of the Old Testament were the shadow and prophecy of the truth. Therefore to order the testament above the sacrifices is to offer oneself as a sacrifice to the Lord, and to fulfill spiritually what the letter commands. Or the testament is ordered above the sacrifices, when new things are set before old ones: when, the sacrifices of animals having been destroyed, the order of Melchisedech is preached everywhere. To which order of newness belongs what follows.

And the heavens shall declare his justice: for God is judge. The heavens declare the justice of God, when spiritual men preach the faith of our Lord Jesus Christ, and good works. Whence it is said elsewhere: The heavens declare the glory of God. Which justice, indeed, is preached to us to this end, that by following it we may deserve to escape the wrath of the judge. For God is judge, who shall judge the living and the dead: because he will render to each one according to his works, his deserts. Holy men, keeping this incessantly before the eyes of the mind, that God is judge, do not cease to examine their life, to weep over their sins, ever to advance themselves to better things: that afterward they may be able to appear before the strict judge unjudgeable. Up to this point the Synagogue has commended Christ, either by expounding the order of his preaching, or by commending it according to his coming: henceforth it introduces him speaking thus:

Hear, my people, and I will speak, Israel: Israel is a name of election. Thou shalt not be called Jacob, but thou shalt be called Israel. Hear, therefore, as Israel, as one seeing God (and if not yet in hope, yet already in faith), for this is what Israel means, one seeing God. He who has ears to hear, let him hear. But He captures his goodwill when He says: My people. As if He were saying: The chosen people, the peculiar people. And I will testify to thee. That is, I will approve by the testimonies of the Scriptures. What? I am God, thy God. That is, I who am God, am thy God. For whoever understands the Scriptures of the Apostles and Prophets recognizes that the Lord Jesus is our God. He is called “thy God” properly, whom God holds more intimately as His own possession, as from His own peculiar treasure. What more do you want? Do you first seek something from God? Behold, God, He Himself is your God. What do we say to God?

You were seeking gifts from Him; you have Him Himself as the giver. And what does the Lord our God require of us? Let us hear what follows:

I will not rebuke thee for thy sacrifices. I will not say to you, Why have you not slain for me a fat bull? Why have you not offered from your flock the best goat? Why does that ram walk among your sheep, and is not laid upon my altar? But thy whole burnt offerings are always in my sight. Holon means whole; kauston, burnt. A holocaust, then, is that which is wholly consumed by fire. There are certain holocausts which God does not accept, of which it is said in another psalm: For thou wilt not be delighted with burnt offerings. These are the holocausts of brute animals, in which God takes no delight. What then are those which are always in my sight? Deal favorably, says God, in thy good pleasure with Sion. Then shalt thou accept the sacrifice of justice, oblations, and holocausts. This is the fire of most burning charity. Let the soul be inflamed with charity, let it seize its members for its own use by that same charity.

Let it not allow them to serve lust, so that the whole may burn with the fire of divine love. Such holocausts God says are always in my sight. Perhaps Israel still thinks of oxen, of sheep, of goats. Therefore it is added:

I will not take calves out of thy house, nor goats out of thy flocks. He foretells the New Testament, where all those old sacrifices ceased. For it was then foretold that a certain sacrifice would come, by whose blood we would be cleansed. Why will I not take from your house calves, goats, and such things?

For all the beasts of the forests are mine. As if He said: I, who possess all the beasts, have no need of that calf or goat which is in your house. But perhaps Israel says: The beasts of God are those wild beasts which I do not enclose in my fold, which I do not tie to my manger. But those which are with me are not God’s, but mine. Therefore the Lord adds: The beasts on the mountains, and the oxen, are mine. Both those which you possess, and those which you do not possess, are all mine. For if you are my servant, all your possession is mine.

I know all the fowls of the air. That is, I have weighed and numbered all things. One kind of knowledge belongs to God, another to man. Just as possessing belongs to God in one way, and to man in another. For that which you possess, you do not have wholly in your power: for as long as your ox lives, it is in your power. These fowls of the air were born of water at the word of the Lord saying: Let the waters bring forth the fowls of the air. Where did He know what He had commanded the waters to bring forth? Surely He already knew what He had created, and before He created it, He knew it. So great, then, is the knowledge of God: that things existed with Him in some ineffable way before they were created. And He expects from you that He should receive what He already possessed before it was created. And the beauty of the field is with me.

That is, the fertility of all things growing on earth is with me. With Him is the field, with Him the form of the earth, with Him the form of the heavens, with Him all the fowls of the air and every creature, since He Himself is everywhere.

If I should be hungry, I would not tell thee. He who keeps Israel shall neither hunger nor thirst, shall not labor, nor slumber. But these things are said according to your carnal way of thinking: because before you eat, you suffer hunger, perhaps you think that God too hungers, in order to eat. Even if it were possible for Him to hunger, He would not tell you. All things that exist are His; from wherever He wills, He takes them. Nothing is necessary to Him. And therefore He adds: For the world is mine, and the fulness thereof. Do not labor, then, to give me anything: without labor I have what I want.

Shall I eat the flesh of bullocks? Or shall I drink the blood of goats? Since you do not seek these things, say then: O Lord our God, what wilt thou have thy people Israel offer to thee. And it goes on to say:

Offer to God the sacrifice of praise. God always loves interior sacrifices more. For He attends more to affection than to worth. Therefore He immediately adds: And pay thy vows to the most High. Let your altar be your conscience. Your fire, divine love. Your sacrifice, the praises of God. Praise God, then, in your heart in such a way that, in the very offering of praise kindled by spiritual fire, you offer and mortify and sacrifice yourself to God. And rightly we are commanded to pay a vow along with the sacrifice to the most High. For God weighs sacrifices according to vows. Your sacrifice will be greater before God according to how much greater devotion you had in that same sacrifice. Whence it is written: By faith Abel offered to God a much fuller sacrifice than Cain, by which he obtained testimony that he was righteous. For God weighs the heart, and not the substance. Nor does He consider how much is in the sacrifice, but from how great a heart it is brought forth.

Hence elsewhere in the psalm it is said: In me, O God, are thy vows, which I will render, praises to thee. As if He plainly said: Even if I have no outward gifts to offer, yet within myself I find what I may lay upon the altar of thy praise. For thou who art not fed by our giving, art better pleased by the offering of the heart. Offer, I say, to God the sacrifice of praise, that thus you may have Him appeased and propitious. And what then?

And call upon me in the day of trouble: I will deliver thee, and thou shalt glorify me. When you are troubled, do not despair, nor be willing to trust in your own strength. Call upon me, and I will deliver you. For a day of trouble is permitted to come for this reason: because perhaps, if you were not troubled, you would not call upon me. But when you are troubled, you call upon me: and because you call, I will deliver you. When you have been delivered, you shall glorify me, so that you no longer depart from me. Tribulations, then, are of value to us, because they rouse us to honor God. Being troubled, we recognize our own weakness; being delivered, we feel the divine grace. And the more we know that our deliverance proceeds not from ourselves, but from Him, the more we honor Him. And it must be known that this whole mortal life is a tribulation to holy men.

For besides the innumerable anxieties of this world, in that they are separated from God, in that they still wander as pilgrims in the world, in that the corruptible body weighs down the soul, they are grievously afflicted. And the more frequent the tribulations are among us, the more frequent our prayers ought to be before God. But it must be guarded that we do not live wickedly while we sing well. For it follows:

But to the sinner God hath said: Why dost thou declare my justices? That is, do you preach my precepts that justify? Of such men the Apostle says: You who preach that a man should not steal, steal; you who teach that a man should not commit adultery, commit adultery; you who abhor idols, commit sacrilege. And why dost thou take my covenant in thy mouth? That is, the body of Christ and the cup of the New Testament, which is shed for many, unto the remission of sins. Or, you take my covenant into your mouth, that is, do you presume to preach my Gospel with such polluted lips?

Seeing thou hast hated discipline. That is, correction: And hast cast my words behind thee. Because, neglecting them, you did not keep them. In hating discipline, an evil will is chastised. In casting the words of God behind, a negligent and depraved life is reproved. To cast away the words of God is, having despised them, to act perversely. Behold how you have cast my words:

If thou didst see a thief, thou didst run with him: and with adulterers thou hast been a partaker. Lest by chance you should say, I did not commit theft, I did not commit adultery. What if it pleased you that he who did it did it? Did you not, by that very pleasure, run with him? Did you not, by praising him who did it, share a portion with him? And even if you do not do the evil, yet if you praise the evil, if you consent by wish, you run with the evildoer, and you receive a share of the evil.

Thy mouth hath abounded with evil, and thy tongue framed deceits. He indicates the malice and deceit of certain men, who, although they know that the things they hear are evil, do not in the least reprove them. And it is a small thing that they do not say, You have done evil; but flattering they say, You have done well. And they know it to be evil, but their mouth abounds with malice, and their tongue frames, that is, adorns, deceits. Deceit is a certain fraud in words, when one thing is promised and another is meant. It is a small thing that you do evil; you also praise it by flattery, and mock and deceive the sinner. Or, the mouth of the sinner abounds with malice, when he provokes others with curses and insults. But the lips frame deceits, when they utter pleasant-sounding words. Whence it is further added:

Sitting, thou didst speak against thy brother. This happens when someone, as though strong, or already a teacher of some standing, detracts from his brother who perhaps acts well and lives rightly. In that He says “Sitting,” delay or deliberate effort is signified. There is another, weak and imperfect, against whom he sets a stumbling block, likewise by speaking wickedly. Therefore that weak one is called a son of the mother, not yet of the father, still needing milk and clinging to the breasts. He is still carried in the bosom of mother Church, not yet able to approach the solid food of his Father’s table. He is scandalized, because he is not yet perfect. For if he were perfect, he could in no way be scandalized. For much peace have they that love thy law, and to them there is no stumbling block. And the Lord in the Gospel says: whoever shall scandalize one of these little ones.

He does not say “of the greater ones,” but “of the little ones”: because it belongs only to little ones to be scandalized. But it is the custom of the wicked to detract from the perfect, to set a stumbling block for the imperfect, and always to sow discord.

This you did (says the Lord), and I kept silence, that is, I did not reprove, I did not avenge. For now is the time of mercy, in which the merciful Lord patiently waits for us, that we may be converted. For he is not angry every day, but as it is said in another psalm: Unless you are converted, he will brandish his sword. Hence it is that he adds: You thought unjustly that I would be like unto you. It is little that your evil deeds please you. You think they please me also. Because you do not suffer God as an avenger, you wish to hold him as a partner. I will reprove you, and set before your face. The more patiently the merciful Lord now bears with sinners, the more strictly he will reprove them in judgment. And because they neglect here to attend to themselves and amend, he will set them there before his face, that they may see their own foulness.

Yet not for this, that they may correct themselves, but that they may blush the more. Now therefore, do you, whoever you are of that sort, do what God threatens to do to you. Take yourself from behind your back, where you do not wish to see yourself, dissembling your deeds, and set yourself before yourself. Ascend the tribunal of your mind. Be your own judge. Let fear torment you. Let confession break forth. And say to your Lord: For I know my iniquity, and my sin is always before me. For if (as Paul says) we judged ourselves, we should not indeed be judged. Therefore, by way of admonition, he adds:

Understand these things, you who forget God. You who have forgotten God, while doing evil deeds, weigh in reason what has been said, that you may correct yourselves. Note in this verse the depths of divine mercy. Even those who forget him he does not forget; he does not repel them, but rather calls them back to understanding, that they may come to their senses and not perish. He does not will the death of the sinner, but that he be converted and live. And why, O merciful Lord, do you admonish those who forget you, that they may understand? Hear the reason: Lest at any time that adversary the devil seize them, who as a roaring lion goes about, seeking whom he may devour (1 Peter 5), and there be none to deliver, if you do not wish to understand. For the Lord does not deliver those who forget him: who scorn to understand the things pertaining to the salvation of their souls. Whence it is written: Whoever is ignorant shall be ignored.

Let us hear, on the contrary, what he adds concerning those who understand and praise God:

The sacrifice of praise shall honor me: and there is the way, by which I will show him the salvation of God. What in Latin is "salutare" (salvation), in Hebrew is called Jesus. In the sacrifice of praise, therefore, is made the way of the showing of Jesus, because while compunction is poured out through psalmody, a way is made for us in the heart, by which one arrives at last at Jesus. As he himself speaks of his own manifestation, saying: He who loves me shall be loved by my Father, and I will love him, and will manifest myself to him.

Unto the end, a psalm of David, when Nathan the prophet came to him, when he had gone in to Bathsheba. This psalm is attributed to David the prophet, looking unto the end, that is, unto Christ, from whom he had withdrawn through sin, who is the end of the law and the prophets. Or "end," that is, the perfection of all good works. A psalm, I say, composed for that matter for which Nathan the prophet came to reprove him. And because Nathan had come to him many times, that it might be known at what coming he was the occasion of this psalm, it is thus determined: namely, at that time when he had gone in to Bathsheba. By the beauty of this woman, another man's wife, the king and prophet David was captivated. This is not read in this psalm, but it appears in its title. In the books of Kings, however, it is read more fully. Her husband he took care to have killed in war.

And after this deed Nathan the prophet was sent to him by the Lord, to reprove him for so great a crime committed. Many wish to fall with David, and do not wish to rise with David. It is not the example of falling that is set forth, but, if you have fallen, of rising again. Take heed lest you fall. Let the fall of the greater not be a delight to the lesser: but let the fall of the greater be a trembling to the lesser. Let those who have not fallen hear, lest they fall. Let those who have fallen hear, that they may rise. Such an example also warns that no one ought to exalt himself in prosperous things. For many fear adverse things, and do not fear prosperous ones. Yet prosperity is more perilous to the soul than adversity to the body. This sin he did not commit while he suffered persecution from Saul. But one must always be watchful against felicity. The subject matter of this psalm is David, or any other penitent.

The prophet, moreover, intends in this psalm principally to pray for the threefold guilt of the aforesaid crime, namely for adultery, homicide, and fraud. Then also for all his other offenses, that God may pardon him this offense and all others, and restore the grace of the Holy Spirit: so that he may never lose it again. David, moreover, is set forth in this psalm as an example to all the just, not of sinning, but, if they have fallen, of rising again. And lest they presume upon their own virtue, since it is written, Let him who stands take heed lest he fall. To the unjust he is set forth for this, that some may not despair over the greatness of their crime, looking upon David, who obtained pardon for so great a crime through condign satisfaction. David therefore speaks thus:

Have mercy on me, O God. This is said after the manner of someone caught in a matter, whose crime, because it is already manifest to judges, he no longer strives to defend, but seeks only to obtain pardon by begging, showing his repentance, and setting forth his past merits: and thus promising to do good in the future. First he prays for the sin: then he freely confesses his crime. As if he were to say: God, that is, my Creator, whom my great and manifold iniquity does not escape, Have mercy on me, according to your great mercy. That is, according to the measure of your mercy, which is great, forgive my great sin. And according to the multitude of your compassions. That is, according to the measure of your compassions, which are many in their effects, blot out my iniquity, which is manifold. That is, blot out homicide, fraud, and adultery. Here he shows both that his sin was great (for it was adultery) and manifold.

For therein homicide and fraud, and many other things, can be denoted. This is the difference between mercy and compassion: because God is naturally always merciful in himself, but actually a compassionator toward us. The virtue of mercy is inseparably in God. But when from this mercy some benefits are bestowed on us, they are called compassions. And it is to be noted that whoever begs great mercy confesses great misery. Great mercy, then, is opposed to great sin. The multitude of compassions is opposed to the multiplicity of faults. Wherefore he further adds:

More than I am able to beg of you, wash me from my iniquity: that you may forgive what conscience fears, and add what prayer does not presume. And cleanse me from my sin. Although John the Apostle holds that there is no difference between iniquity and sin, who says, Iniquity is sin: nevertheless, in the very usage of speech, iniquity conveys more than sin. And every man freely confesses himself a sinner, but never blushes to call himself unjust. When, therefore, this penitent prays that he be washed from iniquity, and cleansed from sin: he seems to ask for healing both from the graver and from the lighter fault. And he adds the reason why he asks that what he has committed be forgiven him, saying:

For I know my iniquity, according to repentance and satisfaction: and this not for an hour, but continually. Therefore he adds: And my sin is always before me. Before me, that is, before my eyes. He has not forgotten his sin and iniquity, although he had already heard from the prophet: The Lord has taken away your sin from you. In his conscience, as in an image, he had adultery and homicide depicted; day by day he saw the rottenness: and therefore he said, And my sin is always before me. I see it. Do you not consider it. Attend to what God does. If you are mindful of your sin, he will not be mindful. If you have forgotten it, God will remember it. I am he (says the Lord) who blots out your iniquities. But do you be mindful of them. But perhaps someone will say, Why am I to be mindful? That my mercy, he says, may be more pleasing, that you may feel what I have granted you.

For if you are mindful of the heap of your sins, you will also be mindful of the greatness of God's beneficence. Such were the saints: they did not put forward their virtues, but recalled the memory of their sins: not as men now do, who forget their sins and desire to conceal them: but if they have done anything good, they bring it forth in the midst, and hasten to publish it to all. Have you done some good? Conceal it, that your Lord may see it, and praise it. Have you done evil? Acknowledge and amend it, and God forgives. Confess to God, and say what follows:

Against you only have I sinned. To him alone is an account of sin to be rendered, who alone is without sin. And have done evil before you. What is this? Before men there is not another man's wife committing adultery, and a husband killed. But in this every man sins against God alone, that God alone can heal man from sin. As if the sick man should say to an excellent physician: To you alone am I sick: no one can heal my suffering, except you alone. Hence in another psalm it is said of this heavenly physician of the sinning soul, Who is merciful to all your iniquities, Who heals all your infirmities. Rightly, moreover, he says he has done evil before God, because God alone knows what and how great the evil of each is. For man sees the face, God sees the heart. Man sees the sin of the deed, God looks also into the root of the intention.

Or, to you alone, without sin, have I sinned and done evil before you, from whom no secret is hidden. He is a just punisher, who has in himself nothing that deserves punishment. And therefore I pray, cleanse me. Why? That you may be justified in your words. Your word is, Turn to me and you shall be saved. Your word is, Come to me, all who labor and are burdened, and I will refresh you. Your word is, At whatever hour the sinner shall have been converted, he shall live in life, and shall not die. And I indeed have been converted, and coming to you I beg mercy. Forgive, therefore, what I have committed, that you may be found just and truthful in your words. And that you may overcome when you are judged. That is, when certain people, wrongly understanding, judge that you do not have mercy on those fallen into crime. Overcome them, and destroy their sentence, by sparing me, fallen into crime.

Otherwise: Therefore to you alone do I confess my sins: therefore before you do I uncover my evils, that I may justify you in your words, and blame myself in my deeds: and as though a trial were set, you may win, I may be conquered. For often, while we diligently discuss the case of God toward us, and ours toward God, we judge God himself before ourselves according to reason. Man ascends the tribunal of his own mind: thought becomes the accuser, conscience the witness: reason becomes the judge, fear the executioner: and when he finds himself unjust and convicted, having become humbler, he renders himself more pleasing to the Lord. Or, that you may overcome when you are judged, that is, in the judgment of your Son, by which he was condemned to death, you may appear victor, according to the glorification of the resurrection and ascension. For you surpass all judges: and he who thinks himself just before you is unjust.

Nor is it enough for David to confess only his criminal sins: he leads even the very origin of sin to the physician. He confesses all things, he humbles himself in all things: that he may merit pardon for all sins. Whence now, with his own voice as well as that of the whole human race, he adds, saying:

For behold, I was conceived in iniquities, and in sins my mother conceived me. My mother conceived me with the delight of sin. I, having been conceived, contracted with me the iniquity of the original transgression.

Was it perhaps concerning the adultery of David, that he was born of Jesse, a just man, and his lawful wife? What then does it mean, that he says he was conceived in iniquities, except that iniquity is drawn from Adam? No one is born without drawing guilt, and the punishment of guilt. What he says, "Behold," signifies plainly, openly. For all men see this. All men feel this. For man, living in corruptible flesh, has impressed upon himself the uncleannesses of temptations: because indeed he drew them from that very origin: since, on account of the delight of the flesh, his conception itself is uncleanness. Hence it is that he is often tempted even unwillingly.

Hence it is that he suffers a certain uncleanness in his mind, although he struggles against it by judgment: because he who was conceived of uncleanness, while he strives toward cleanness, endeavors to overcome that which he is. Let him, then, who has already come to the place of cleanness, look back upon the path of his conception by which he came: and from that let him gather that he does not have, of his own power, the cleanness of living, for whom the beginning of subsisting was made from uncleanness.

For behold, thou hast loved truth. Therefore I acknowledge my sin according to repentance. Because, "Behold," that is, it is manifest that thou hast loved truth: that is, true confession: or, thou hast loved truth, since thou hast not left unpunished even the sins of those whom thou forgivest. Thus hast thou so bestowed mercy as to preserve also truth. Thou forgivest him who confesses, but who also punishes himself. The uncertain and hidden things of thy wisdom hast thou made manifest to me. Thou hast so loved me, so honored me, that thou didst reveal to me, by a prophetic spirit, the hidden mysteries of thy wisdom, that is, of thy Son: namely, the incarnation, the passion, the resurrection, the ascension, and very many other things. He says "uncertain" on account of the Jews, who read these things and doubted. "Hidden" on account of the Gentiles, who did not know these things at all. Tell us, O holy David, if anything was revealed to thee concerning the coming of Christ.

"He shall come down," he says, "like rain upon the fleece". Tell of the gathering of persecutors. "The kings of the earth stood up, and the princes gathered together in one, against the Lord and against his Christ". Tell of the passion of the cross. "They pierced my hands and my feet". Tell of the food and drink. "They gave gall for my food, and in my thirst they gave me vinegar to drink". Tell of the burial. "They laid me in the lower pit". Tell of the resurrection. "Thou wilt not leave my soul in hell". Tell of the ascension. "God ascended with jubilation". Tell of the glory of the Church. "The queen stood at thy right hand in gilded clothing". It would be long to relate how many and how great secrets were revealed to him. Since, then, so great a man fell, who is there who can be secure concerning himself?

And yet, if it happens that someone has fallen, let him consider that this man repented, and not only received pardon, but was even restored to his former standing. Whence he also adds:

Thou shalt sprinkle me with hyssop, and I shall be cleansed. Hyssop we know to be a humble herb, but medicinal, which is said to cling to the rock with its roots. Take hold of thy rock, that is, of Christ, by the root of love. Be humble before thy God, that thou mayest be exalted in thy God who has been glorified. Do not despise the herb; consider the force of the medicine. Hyssop reduces the swelling of the lung. In the lung, pride is usually noted. For there is inflation, there is difficulty of breathing. Such a disease humility cures. With hyssop in the old law the blood of the heifer was sprinkled to cleanse the children of Israel. Let us also be sprinkled with hyssop; let us imitate the humility of Christ's passion, and we shall be cleansed from sins. But it is too little to be cleansed from the filth of sins, unless it also happens that we are adorned with the whiteness of virtues.

Therefore he adds: Thou shalt wash me, with sacred blood: and I shall be made whiter than snow. In which no traces of blackness can be seen. He rightly says that he shall be made whiter than snow, because the whiteness of a justified soul surpasses all the whiteness of visible creation. The garment of Christ on the mountain shone as snow made white, which signified the Church, to be cleansed from every stain of sins. Thus, having been cleansed and made white:

To my hearing thou shalt give joy and gladness. Truth heard within delights greatly. And the servant of God rejoices vehemently and is glad, when he is instructed within concerning the remission of sins, or the promise of eternal salvation, or concerning any divine dispensations. Whence it is said of John: "But the friend of the bridegroom stands and hears him, and rejoices with joy because of the bridegroom's voice". "Joy" can be referred to present grace. "Gladness" to future glory. And, because of the joy restored to me, the humbled bones shall rejoice. That is, the virtues which were cast down through sin shall be a cause of exultation to me. Or the perfect men may be understood, since they have been humbled, they shall rejoice: according to what is written: "Every one that humbleth himself shall be exalted". And that this may come to pass, he continues and adds:

Turn away thy face from my sins. God does this when he dissembles the sins of men on account of repentance. It is as if he turns his face away from sins, as if he does not remember, when he does not punish. Rightly dost thou ask, and well dost thou ask, that God turn away his face from thy sins, if thou thyself dost not turn thy face away from them. Hence it is that above he says, "And my sin is against me always." Nor do I ask only for these sins, but also for all others. And this is what he says: And blot out all my iniquities. When thou shalt have blotted them out,

Create in me a clean heart, O God. Create, as God, something new: cleanse my heart: take away evil thoughts. And renew a right spirit within my bowels. He rightly said, "Renew"; for the house that sin had made old is now built anew; I ask that grace renew it. Through my own deed the rightness of my spirit was bent; let it be directed through thy grace: that as before, I may walk rightly and in truth in thy sight.

Cast me not away from thy face. That is, from thy presence. Let my sins be cast away from thee, not I myself. Hitherto, he says, have I stood before thy face, and understood thy secrets. I beseech thee, Lord, do not repel me from so great a knowledge of thee. And take not thy Holy Spirit from me.

Restore to me the joy of thy salvation. That, as of old, so now also the coming of thy Son, his incarnation, passion, resurrection, ascension, may be manifest to me: and confirm me with a governing spirit. In what, it might be asked, confirm me? Because thou hast forgiven me: because I am certain that what thou hast pardoned is not imputed to me. And made secure by this, and thus confirmed by grace, I shall not be ungrateful. What wilt thou give in return for this gift?

I will teach the wicked thy ways. For this is the proper mark of holy men, that they strive to impart to others, out of charity, the spiritual goods which they receive from God: and that just as they seek their own salvation, so also they seek that of others. Whence he also adds: and the impious shall be converted to thee. For they do not teach others for this reason, that they may wish to commend themselves, or to seek some temporal gain from their teaching, but with this intention only, that they may be able to draw the impious to conversion. Great is the commendation of divine mercy, and the consolation of sinners, when it is said, "And the impious shall be converted to thee." Thus is God so full of the fatness of mercy, that salvation is promised not only to those converted, but even to the impious themselves. Whence Paul says, "That to those believing in him who justifies the impious, their faith may be reckoned unto righteousness".

But considering his many iniquities, and attributing them to the corruption of flesh and blood, he adds:

Deliver me from bloods, O God, God of my salvation. Thou, O God, who art God, and the author of my salvation, deliver me from bloods, that is, from the corruptions of the flesh. The Latin interpreter expressed, with a word less proper to Latin, the very sense taken from the Greek. For we all know that "bloods" is not properly said in Latin; yet because the Greek used it thus, in the plural number, not without cause, since he found it so in the original Hebrew tongue, the interpreter preferred to say something less correctly in Latin rather than to fail to express the true meaning. Why then did he say, in the plural, "from bloods"? By "many bloods," as by the origin of sinful flesh, he wished to signify many sins: having regard to those very sins which come from the corruption of flesh and blood. Whence the Apostle says: "Flesh and blood shall not possess the kingdom of God". Deliver me from bloods, that is, from iniquities.

And my tongue shall exult, that is, shall proclaim exultingly thy justice. If I shall be able to declare thy justice: if thou shalt first have delivered me from iniquity. And because he said, "My lips shall exult in thy justice," lest this should seem to be attributed to his own strength, as though he had speech in his own power, commending the grace of God, he adds:

O Lord, thou shalt open my lips, and my mouth shall declare thy praise. Thou shalt make my lips fit for preaching, which before had been closed on account of sin. For praise is not comely in the mouth of a sinner. Whence God said to the sinner, "Why dost thou declare my justice?" Whereas praise befits the upright. It is thine, therefore, to open my lips: it is mine, then, to declare thy praise: which is more acceptable to thee than to offer legal sacrifices.

For if thou hadst desired sacrifice, especially the legal one, rather than an offering of praise, I would have given it. But I have determined rather to offer a sacrifice of praise, because indeed thou wilt not be delighted with the old holocausts. What then? Did not holy David offer to God sacrifices and holocausts of calves and bulls, as was prescribed in the law? He offered them indeed: but in that very offering he presented more the new than the old sacrifice. For when he slew animals, within himself he offered himself to God in contrition of heart, and there offered to God vows and praises, which he knew to be more acceptable to God than to offer the flesh of animals. And this is truly what is intimated to us as sacrifice, when he adds:

A sacrifice to God is a troubled spirit. A merely carnal sacrifice does not please God, but a troubled spirit, that is, one greatly afflicted for its sins, is a sacrifice pleasing to God. And this he proves from the following words, saying: A contrite and humbled heart, O God, thou wilt not despise. From this it appears that a troubled spirit is a pleasing sacrifice to thee; because, O God, thou wilt not despise, nay, thou wilt graciously accept, a heart contrite through compunction and humbled. Having commended the new sacrifice, he prays that God establish the Church from both walls, which may offer such a sacrifice. He says therefore:

Deal graciously, O Lord, in thy good will with Sion. Thou, O Lord, to whom such a sacrifice is pleasing, deal graciously with Sion, that is, bestow abundant blessing and mercy upon thy future Church, and not from her own merits, but in thy good will, that is, with thy free grace. And from living stones, namely faithful souls, let the walls of Jerusalem be built, that is, let both walls of the Church, namely the Jewish and the Gentile, be constructed in faith, hope, and charity. Sion is interpreted "watchtower," and Jerusalem "vision of peace." Recognize, then, yourselves in Sion and Jerusalem, if you await a sure future hope, and if you have peace with God.

Then you will accept the sacrifice of righteousness. Now the sacrifice for iniquity (which is a contrite spirit, a broken and humbled heart) God does not despise. Then, that is, in the age to come, you will graciously accept only the sacrifice of righteousness, and of praise: as it is written: Blessed are they who dwell in your house, O God, they will praise you forever and ever. You will also accept Offerings and holocausts. When a whole beast was placed upon the altar to be consumed by fire, this was called a holocaust. The divine fire will consume all of us. For not only will our soul be consumed by the divine fire of wisdom, but our body there will merit immortality. Then they will place upon your altar, that is, upon the memorial of your venerable passion and resurrection, calves, being signified thereby, that is, themselves, innocent, new, freed from the yoke of the Law.

In this psalm two kinds of men are treated: one earthly, the other heavenly: one persecutes, the other suffers: one glories in malice, which will be uprooted: the other glories in God, and will endure. Concerning the perverse kind, it is treated in the first part of the psalm, and its malice is described part by part. But the kind of the elect is shown at the end. The title is as follows: Unto the end, understanding of David, when Doeg the Idumaean had come, and announced to Saul, and said to him: David has come into the house of Achimelech. It is read in the history that at the time when Saul was persecuting David, David himself, driven by hunger and by enemies, having no place to which to flee, entered the house of Achimelech the priest, and ate with him of the Loaves of Proposition. When Doeg the Idumaean, a certain servant of Saul, saw this, moved by envy he reported it to Saul, saying: David has come into the house of Achimelech.

This persecution and Doeg's accusation was fulfilled, and is fulfilled daily in the Church. Doeg is interpreted "moved." Idumaean is interpreted "earthly": Saul, "appetite"; Achimelech, "kingdom of my father." The exposition of the title is this: this understanding, which the words of this psalm bring forth, is not to be fulfilled in this life, but "unto the end," that is, in the future: or "unto the end," Christ. By which understanding it is believed that the impious, through this present license which they have to do evil, are to undergo the damnation of eternal punishment. But the good, through the fact that they suffer these evils at their hands, are to be rewarded in the future. This understanding, moreover, is to be attributed to David, that is, to any believer.

The understanding, I say, held concerning the gospel, which was signified when Doeg the Idumaean came, that is, some earthly man moved by malice, and announced to Saul, who is interpreted "appetite," by whom death is signified: and said to him, inciting him to persecution: David has come, that is, any believer, into the house of Achimelech, that is, into fellowship with the Church, which is rightly designated by Achimelech; who is interpreted "kingdom of my father": because in her God the Father reigns. Nor is it without reason that by Saul we understand death: because just as this sinning people asked of God this king, so we through unlawful appetite acquired death. For Saul (as we have said) is interpreted "appetite." Evil appetite is the death of the soul. This king rules in the sons of unbelief. But he persecutes us, both by himself and through his ministers. But we shall triumph over this king, when this mortal shall have put on immortality, when that word shall be fulfilled which is written: O death, where is your contention?

Where is your sting (Hosea 13)? Meanwhile, that we may be patient so as not to fail on the way, let us be refreshed with the loaves of holiness in the house of Achimelech, that is, with the word of God and the heavenly sacraments in the house of the Church. The subject matter of this psalm is both kinds of men, persecutors and sufferers. The faithful soul, having the understanding that those who now glory in malice will afterward be damned, and those who now suffer for righteousness' sake will afterward receive everlasting glory: speaks here against these perverse men, intending to call them back from perversity, and to show the way of truth, saying thus:

Why do you glory in malice, you who are mighty in iniquity? You persecutor and lover of the world, to whom license and power to work iniquity has been granted, for what fruit? For what advantage do you glory in malice? Or this at least ought to call you back, that in this glory you can find no fruit at all. It is indeed worse to glory in iniquity than to practice iniquity in deed. For there are some who indeed do wicked things, but conscience gnaws at them for sin, and they tremble within themselves. And it usually happens that, if they cannot yet refrain from all things, still they strive to restrain themselves from certain wicked works. And there are those who rejoice when they have done evil, and exult in the worst things. These are they who with loose reins hurl themselves headlong into every evil. Such are reproved in this psalm. Since they glory in malice, and are mighty in iniquity: in them both the depraved will and the perverse action are reproved.

He pursues the malice part by part, when he adds:

All the day, that is, continually, your tongue has devised injustice. Either you do evil, or, while you cannot do it, you speak evil: or when you cannot even do this, you will and think evil. He commends here the tongue of the heart, not of the mouth: for our heart has its own tongue. Whatever office the tongue has outwardly in speaking, the tongue of the heart has that same office inwardly in thinking. Hence it is that without the noise of words we often speak to ourselves in the heart. Nor have you only thought injustice, but you have also wrought deceit. This is what he adds: Like a sharp razor you have wrought deceit. Your deceit has the efficacy of a razor. As a sharp razor shaves off filth and hairs from skins, so your deceit, when you take away earthly goods from the faithful, or cut down bodies, or kill; you take away only the superfluous, you do no harm to the soul. Indeed you render it whiter and more perfect.

Behold what the wicked do to the saints: they shave off hairs. Therefore let the wicked man sharpen his razor, let him sharpen his deceit as much as he can: he will take away only temporal superfluities, not the necessary eternal things. He takes away temporal life, sends to eternal. He takes away temporal things, drives on to eternal ones. And it is to be noted that in this verse the thought and the act of malice are contained: but in the following also the affection is designated, when it is said:

You have loved malice above kindness. Not only have you thought and done evil, but you have also loved evil. Nor have you loved this only for doing, but also for speaking. And therefore he adds: iniquity more than to speak equity. Understand: "you have loved." This indeed always applies to the reprobate, that they love more to think, do, and speak evil than good. And in this there is a twofold iniquity and damnation, because they choose what ought to have been rejected: and they scorn what ought to have been chosen. Woe to the wicked heart. He turns himself away, so as not to see what he ought to have seen. Of such a one it is said in another psalm: He was unwilling to understand, that he might do good. Because of this it is rightly added:

You have loved all words of precipitation, O deceitful tongue. Now he no longer cares what he says, what he lies about, how he deceives. He abandons himself headlong to every falsehood, deceit, vanity. The deceitful tongue is the handmaid of fraud. The deceitful tongue bears one thing in the heart, and utters another with the mouth. But in these there is precipitation and submersion.

Therefore God will destroy you unto the end. And even if you now seem to stand and to flourish like grass in the field, in the end God will uproot you, when he shall say: Go into eternal fire. And although you have fixed the root of your heart in the love of the world: He will uproot you, and will make you emigrate, that is, he will cause you to emigrate from your tabernacle, that is, from this world, or from the body, or from the Church, in which you ought to have stood. And your root from the land of the living. The reprobate too sometimes have a root of good. This is signified in the grain which fell upon the rock. For it sent forth a root, but that which sprang up withered: because it had no moisture. These (says the Lord) are they who believe for a time, but in the time of temptation fall away.

By believing, therefore, they send forth a root, but by not persevering they are uprooted from the land of the living, that is, from the fellowship of the saints, because they had no moisture of divine grace.

The righteous will see, and will fear, and over him will laugh. Let us understand and distinguish these two times, of fearing and of laughing. We read what is reserved in the end for the wicked. And because we understand and believe: we see and fear. The Apostle says, With fear and trembling work out your own salvation; And the Psalmist: Serve the Lord in fear. Therefore the righteous, who are now such, who live by faith, understand that the wicked are to be damned. Therefore they fear also for themselves. For what they are today, they know. What they will be tomorrow, they do not know. But when our day shall come, when Christ our life shall appear, we too shall appear with him in glory. Then the righteous will laugh over him, because there will no longer be any place for compassion or condolence. Not as now, when you see a man living unjustly, you wish to labor with him, and to bring him back to the way of truth when he wanders.

Whence you both grieve for him, and pray for him. But then, when the time of judgment shall come, there will no longer be a place for correction, but only for damnation. There will be repentance there, but fruitless, because it comes too late. Then the righteous will see the wicked man, and will laugh over him, that is, appearing as superior, they will show him to be worthy of derision. And they will say, in their inward speech:

Behold the man who did not make God his helper. We must carefully consider what Scripture condemns in this wicked man. For it did not say, Behold him who was rich: but Behold the man who did not make God his helper. But he hoped in the abundance of his riches, that is, in the abundance of gold or silver, and of power, and of glory, and of other things. Not because he had riches, but because he hoped in them, is he therefore condemned, is he therefore removed from his tabernacle, is his root therefore rooted out from the land of the living. And prevailed in his vanity. For what is more vain than one who thinks money worth more than God? Therefore, this man being condemned, what do you say about yourself, O David? What do you say about yourself, O body of Christ?

But I, like a fruitful olive tree in the house of God. I, remaining in the Church, which is the house of God, like a fruitful olive tree in the richness of charity and in the fruitfulness of good works, Have hoped, not in riches or honors, but in the mercy of God: I (I say) am to be brought unto eternity. And this he explains when he adds: and unto the age that follows this age. As the olive loses its greenness neither in winter nor in summer, so holy men lose the beauty of their virtues neither in prosperity nor in adversity.

I will confess to thee for ever, because thou hast done it. Therefore, because thou hast made me such, I will praise thee forever. It is a great confession, a great commendation of grace, to say to God, Because thou hast done it. What is it that thou hast done? Surely this, that I, like a fruitful olive tree in the house of God, have hoped in the mercy of God. For what have I done, except evil? But it is God who worketh in us both to will and to work according to his good pleasure. And therefore with patience I will wait for thy name, that is, the glory and deification of thy name: or thy name Jesus, that is, Saviour: because it is good in the sight of thy saints. He does not say in the sight of the impious, but that the name of the Lord is good in the sight of the saints.

For the impious have neither the eye nor the palate of the heart, so as to be able to see or taste how good and how sweet the Lord is. A man who does not know what honey is, unless he tastes it, does not know what he speaks of. Therefore the Psalm, inviting rather to experience, says, Taste, and see that the Lord is sweet. As if he were to say: Then you will see, if you have tasted. If nothing were sweet to the martyrs, they would by no means bear with an even mind such bitternesses of tribulations. Good is thy name in the sight of thy saints. It is good for me, when I hear God. It is good for me, when I hear Jesus. This name both the good and the wicked can hear: but only the saints can taste it. And the holier anyone is, the sweeter and more pleasant does the name of the Lord taste in his heart.

So much the more patiently and desirably also does he wait, that at length he may merit to see what he loves.

Unto the end, for Mahalath, understanding of David. This understanding is attributed to David, that is, to Christ inviting us, that is, to conformity with himself who is the end of the law. The same Christ is set before us in this Psalm, for understanding, that we may be transformed into him who is the end of the law: that we may believe him to be the salvation of Israel. Christ, I say, acting for Mahalath, that is, in the place of one travailing or grieving. For Mahalath is interpreted as grieving or travailing: but it has the effect of one grieving or travailing, namely, by reproving, by rebuking Jewish perfidy, striving to transform it from oldness into newness. My little children, of whom I am in travail again (this is for Mahalath) until Christ be formed in you, that is, unto the end. The matter of this psalm is the foolish people, not knowing God.

But our very Head intends in this psalm to confute those who denied that Christ was Lord: showing that they consummate and are corrupted, and are so abominable to God, that none of them does good, until they be converted to the One, namely to God. He also shows that on account of the iniquities of certain persons, their reasonings and their judgment are to be dissipated by God, and they themselves are also to be punished forever: but the just shall obtain salvation. Thus therefore it begins:

The fool hath said in his heart, There is no God. This Psalm, since it has already been expounded above, does not need exposition, except for this one verse, which is not in the above psalm. For God hath scattered the bones of them that please men. The Jews wished to please men more than God, when they said, We have no king but Caesar. And again: If thou release him, thou art not Caesar's friend. The Apostle says: If I yet pleased men, I should not be the servant of Christ. Because therefore, seeking to please men, they refused to be servants of Christ, therefore God scattered their bones, that is, the powers of the soul: and destroyed in them the interior senses, namely reason and understanding, memory, and other such things: which are called bones for this reason, because as flesh is sustained by bones, so is the soul sustained by the powers. But they were confounded, having lost their place and nation, and were scattered in captivity through all the lands.

And this befell them, Because God hath despised them. For they themselves had first despised him, as he himself said through his Prophet: I have nourished and brought up children, but they have despised me. Because therefore they despised God, by the just judgment of Almighty God they were despised.

On verses 1 and 2: Unto the end, in songs, understanding of David, when the Ziphites came, and said to Saul, Is not David hidden with us? The understanding of this psalm is to be attributed to David, that is, to Christ tending toward the end, that is, toward the perfection of his obedience. And this in songs, that is, in gladness: because the life of our Lord was a discipline of morals: because what he himself understood, he also set before us to be understood. But what did he understand? That one must persevere in praises, even unto the end. When did he understand this? When the Jews, flourishing only in this world, betrayed him to death, and refused to believe in God hidden in man. Which betrayal was prefigured, when the Ziphites came, and said to Saul, Is not David hidden with us? There was a certain village called Ziph, whose inhabitants were the Ziphites: in whose region David had hidden himself, when Saul wished to find and kill him.

These Ziphites, therefore, having learned this, betrayed him to the persecuting king, saying: Behold, is not David hidden with us? Their betrayal indeed profited them nothing: and it did no harm to David. For their malicious mind was thereby demonstrated. Ziph is interpreted flower. Hence they are called Ziphites, that is, flourishing ones: by whom the Jews are designated, who flourished in temporal goods. By Saul is understood death. The Ziphites therefore betrayed David to Saul, because the Jews delivered Christ to death. By the Ziphites also are understood the lovers of this world, who still persecute the body of Christ. The matter of this psalm is the Head and the body, set among the wicked and afflicted. In the first part of the psalm he prays to be delivered from strangers, by whom he is afflicted. In the last part he shows them scattered, and himself delivered from every tribulation, and exalted over his enemies.

This therefore is set before us to be understood in this psalm, that just as the Son voluntarily offered himself to the Father, and asked of the Father not for present safety, but for future: so if those flourishing in the world rise up against us, we should bear cheerfully the injuries inflicted, and ask that they profit us unto future life. He prays therefore in this psalm, this very Head, and sets forth himself (as we have said) as an example of praying and of persevering: foreseeing that he was to suffer for the redemption of the human race, so that he might rise from death, and, according to the power and omnipotence of God, might at length be worthily exalted. Thus therefore he said:

O God, save me by thy name. The voice of Christ to the Father; as if he plainly said, In thy name glorify, Save me, by raising me up. And judge me in thy strength, that is, according to the excellence of thy strength let my judgment grow: that all may discern and know, that thou hast sent me. And it shall come to pass (says the Prophet) that whosoever shall call upon the name of the Lord, shall be saved. Let us then call upon the name of the Lord, that we may be saved. O God, in thy name, that is, by the invocation of thy holy name, save me from sins: And in thy strength, that is, in thy power, by which thou art to judge the living and the dead, judge me, that is, discern me from the wicked. Note that he first asks to be saved in the name, then to be judged in strength. For whom, in the preceding name, he shall have saved, in the following strength he shall wholesomely judge.

Be secure: that judgment shall not be punishment for thee, but discernment. And this prayer which he sends to the Father, he asks to be heard, when he adds:

O God, hear my prayer. This, namely, which he set forth above concerning salvation and judgment. Give ear to the words of my mouth, that is, to the very prayer held in the heart, and uttered by the voice. The Lord has no other ears, than his grace and mercy. And when it is said, Give ear, nothing else is understood but, Attend, and hear mindfully and mercifully. For if he gives ear, so as to hear mercifully, we are secure that the Lord will hear our prayer. In the first verse, then, prayer is made for salvation, but in the second verse prayer is made to commend the prayer already made, and to gain the good-will of God. Then he sets forth the cause why one should pray, saying:

For strangers have risen up against me. For the Jews rose up, that they might oppose Christ. Strangers indeed, if not by race and nature, yet by manners and life. And not only the lesser people, but also the mighty have sought after my soul. As it is written: The kings of the earth stood up, and the princes met together, against the Lord, and against his Christ. Mighty, therefore, according to the pride and power of the age. And they have not set God before their eyes. For if they had known, they would never have crucified the Lord of glory. The cause of so great a sin was therefore the blindness of the heart and unbelief. But the cause of the blindness was pride. Woe to that man, who does not set God before his eyes. For the Lord is our illumination. For when man understands, he is illumined. When he neglects to understand, he is darkened: and so falls into every error and iniquity. These are the strangers, who persecute the body of Christ.

For they are not of God, but of their father the devil. They did not understand me to be God; but behold, it appears openly, that in truth I am God.

Turn back the evils upon my enemies. Behold what kind of vengeance God brings about. The evils which the wicked inflict upon the good, God turns away from us, and turns back upon the wicked. For what harm does persecution and tribulation do to the martyrs? Rather it profits unto salvation. But it harms the wicked unto damnation. Whence it is said elsewhere: His sorrow shall be turned upon his own head, and his iniquity shall come down upon his own crown. Rightly, therefore, it is added: In thy truth, that is, in thy just judgment, destroy them. But he well says not: Destroy, but scatter and destroy: because the Jews, undone in various parts, were also scattered through the regions on account of the evil which they did to Jesus. God will also destroy in his truth the wicked, when in the last judgment he will hand them over to be tormented with various punishments and torments, saying,

I will sacrifice to thee willingly. Every good work offered to God can be called a sacrifice. And he rightly put "willingly" first. For God weighs the will and affection in every sacrifice, and considers the good intention of the offerer, not the greatness of the gift. And as great as is the devotion and will of the offerer, so great is his sacrifice before God. Hence Moses says: The Lord had respect unto Abel and to his offerings. The Lord is said to have had respect first to Abel, not first to his offerings: because he does not weigh the will from the gift, but the gift from the will. But unto Cain and his offerings he had not respect, because evidently he did not see a good will in him. The Son offered himself to the Father in sacrifice for us willingly indeed, because not out of necessity, but out of charity. For God does not love forced gifts and forced services. And I will confess to thy name, O God, for it is good.

Truly it is good, and wholesome for our souls, that we do all things we do to the praise and glory of thy name, that we sacrifice to God with the whole will, that we confess to the name of the Lord with the whole heart. This is sweet, this is good, this is pleasant. And he sets forth the cause why this should be done, when he adds:

For thou hast delivered me out of all trouble. Therefore I said, because thy name is good. For if I could have known this before the tribulations, perhaps they would not have been necessary for me. But tribulation was applied for admonition, and admonition was made for thy praise. For I would not understand where I stood, unless I had been admonished of my infirmity. Therefore thou hast delivered me out of all tribulations. And mine eye hath looked down upon mine enemies. My eye looked down upon those Ziphites. Indeed I passed by their flower, I lifted up the height of my heart to thee, and arriving thence I looked down upon them. And I saw that all flesh is grass, and the glory of man is as the flower of grass. Do this then, brethren, with your souls. Lift up your hearts. Sharpen the edge of your mind. Learn to love God freely. Learn to despise the present world. Learn to sacrifice the offering of praise willingly.

Learn also to praise and invoke the admirable and great name of the Lord, that, passing beyond the flower of grass, you may look down upon your enemies.

Unto the end, in verses, an understanding of David: The understanding of this psalm is to be attributed to David, that is, to Christ persevering unto the end, that is, unto the consummation of his obedience. And this "in verses," that is, in gladness of mind. The subject-matter of this psalm is Christ whole, that is, according to head and body, afflicted by the wicked. But delivered. Christ proposes to us in this psalm, to be understood by his members, that is, not to be sluggishly committed to memory, so that, following his example, when placed amid adversities we may never fall away from hope: but running through torments faithfully, we may hope for eternal reward from God, and believe in the irrevocable damnation of our persecutors. This is what is briefly contained toward the end of the psalm, where it is said: Cast thy care upon the Lord. And a little after: But I have hoped in thee, O God.

But among what adversities he hoped, and what he obtained concerning his own deliverance, and concerning the damnation of his persecutors while hoping, he clearly promises in the earlier parts of the psalm. And he prays for himself, that he might not fail in his passion: and for his resurrection, and glorification. He also treats of the present rejection of the Jews, and of eternal damnation, and of the assumption of the Gentiles, and of the glorification of the faithful forever: saying thus:

2. Hear, O God, my prayer, and despise not my supplication: attend to me, and hear me. As if he were saying: O you my faithful ones, placed in tribulations, do not fail: but hoping in the Lord, and expecting recompense from him, pray after my example: for I, placed in the passion, thus prayed to the Lord: O God the Father, hear my prayer for the sake of the dignity of thy Son, by raising me from death, and glorifying me in the passion. As if he said: Father, glorify thy Son, that thy Son may glorify thee. And despise not my supplication, that is, on account of the humanity assumed, do not hold cheap my supplication, which I make for the avoiding of evils: but rather attend to me, that is, make that very humanity intent, that is, persevering in prayer, or in virtues, and in the increase of good works. And thus hear me.

When in the divine page prayer and supplication are set together, they differ from one another: because prayer is when we ask for something honorable, namely concerning those things which we wish to obtain. Supplication, however, is for the avoiding of evils, concerning those things, namely, which we wish to be repelled from us. It should also be known that often Almighty God both hears and despises the supplication of certain persons. Hence it is that, angered, he granted the Israelites the flesh which they wickedly requested: but how much their petition displeased him, he showed also by punishing. Whence it is written: The meat was yet in their mouths, and the wrath of God came up upon them. So too, when, after the manner of the other nations round about them, they asked for a king from God: he indeed permitted them to have a king, but he signified to Samuel how much their petition displeased him, saying: Hear the voice of the people in all that they say to thee.

For they have not rejected thee, but me, that I should not reign over them. Which Samuel also testified, saying: But you have this day rejected the Lord your God, who alone hath saved you out of all your evils and tribulations. Thus, then, he asks that his prayer be heard, so that God should not despise his supplication: but that its being heard should contain at once grace and profit. To this sense the words that follow seem to agree.

Attend to me, and hear me. For then the Lord attends to me, and hears not only my prayer, but me, when he grants that which I ask for the profit of my soul. And as if it were asked: What need have you, that you should ask to be heard in this way? I was made sorrowful (he says) in my exercise, and I was troubled at the voice of the enemy, and at the tribulation of the sinner. Our Lord Jesus Christ, in the exercise of his passion, the enemies, the Jews, made sorrowful and troubled by cursing and afflicting. Whence he himself says: My soul is sorrowful even unto death. Even now the enemies of the Church do not cease, either to do evil to its members, if they can, or, if they cannot, at least to detract and to disparage. Hence in another psalm it is said, They that render evil for good have detracted me. And elsewhere: All my enemies whispered together against me: they devised evils against me.

They determined an unjust word against me. Concerning whom it is further added: For iniquities have come down upon me. By accusing and slandering, as it is written: Do we not say well, that thou art a Samaritan, and hast a devil? And they were troublesome to me in their anger. By striking, by buffeting: and not justly, but in anger, that is, on account of their anger. For it is written: Son, when thou comest to the service of God, stand in justice and fear, and prepare thy soul for temptation. He does not say for rest and security, but for fear and for temptation. For all that will live godly in Christ, shall suffer persecution. Concerning the just also, the Wise One speaks thus elsewhere: Their affliction was reckoned, their departure: and they went out of the just way into destruction. Likewise also the Apostle: They were stoned, they were cut asunder, they were tempted, they died by the slaughter of the sword, they wandered about in sheepskins, in goatskins, being in want, distressed, afflicted.

Moreover, the Savior himself, speaking of himself, says: Ought not Christ to have suffered these things, and so to enter into his glory? To this pertains what is added:

My heart is troubled within me, and the fear of death is fallen upon me. Hence it is written in the Gospel: Jesus began to fear, to be weary, and to be sorrowful, and an angel of the Lord comforted him. Yet we must not believe that our Redeemer, who had power to lay down his soul, and to take it up again, had, as regards his own person, any dread of death. But we take this saying according to his members: which, although they be strong in spirit, yet because the flesh is weak, are sometimes troubled among themselves on account of the punishment, and fear the bitterness of death. On account of this he adds:

Fear and trembling are come upon me. Fear may be referred to the soul; trembling to the body. Hence it is that he himself says: My Father, if it be possible, let this chalice pass from me. And that he might show himself most greatly moved with fear, he prayed not once only, but three times, saying the same word: and being in an agony, he prayed the longer: and his sweat became as drops of blood trickling down upon the ground. These words also pertain more to the members than to the head. And darkness hath covered me. That is, the dark and blind Jews. For unless they had been blind, and overshadowed with diabolical darkness, at least from such great virtues and miracles they might have known Christ. Or in that he says, My heart is troubled within me, it can be understood thus, of which it is said elsewhere: My eye is troubled through anger. And if the eye is troubled, what follows?

And the fear of death is fallen upon me: our life is love, death is hatred. When man begins to fear lest he hate whom he loved, he fears death, and a sharper and more inward death, by which the soul, not the body, is slain. Hence fear and trembling came upon me, and darkness covered me. For he who hateth his brother is in darkness. And what did he say to himself, placed in that exercise and infirmity?

And I said, Who will give me wings like a dove, and I will fly and be at rest? In this tribulation I did not despair, but I said, that is, I prayed thus to my Father: Raise me up, Father, unto thyself. For who else besides thee, unto me, being as it were a dove, that is, innocent and without the gall of bitterness, will give wings, that is, agility and possibility, and I will fly, that is, I will pass out of this world to the Father, from the Jewish people to the Gentile, and there I will rest? And my prayer shall not be in vain.

For Lo, I have gone far off flying away, and I abode in the wilderness. It is plain that I, fleeing, that is, rising quickly from death, went far away from the world or the Jewish people, and abode in the wilderness, that is, in heaven, or among the Gentiles. Holy men desire wings like a dove, that is, spiritual virtues, that having left earthly things in mind they may be able to fly through heavenly contemplation, and rest in the love of God. And frequently the merciful Lord fulfills their desire, that they may go far off, fleeing the tumults of carnal thoughts, and abide in the wilderness, that is, rest delightfully in the quiet of their mind. And that this might happen to me, I did not trust in my own strength.

I was waiting for him who saved me from faint-heartedness of spirit and tempest, that is, I was placing my hope in the Lord, who saved me, lest I become faint of heart. And from tempest, that is, from every disturbance. Peter had faint-heartedness of spirit, when, seeing the strong wind and the storm of the sea, he grew afraid. And when he began to sink, he was awaiting the help of his Savior. Hence he also cried out: Lord, save me. And Jesus, stretching out his hand, took hold of him and saved him from faint-heartedness of spirit and from the tempest. And yet he rebuked him, saying: O you of little faith, why did you doubt? So very often the elect, when they see the strong onslaughts of temptations, from weakness of soul fear the tempest and danger of salvation, and thus begin to sink: but nevertheless they do not perish, because, awaiting and seeking divine help, they are saved. But just as they themselves are saved, so on the contrary the reprobate are submerged.

Concerning whom, prophesying forthwith, and praying, he adds:

Cast them down, O Lord, and divide their tongues. Those who exalted themselves wickedly. It is expedient for them that they be cast down: those who conspired wickedly, it is expedient that their tongues be divided. Certain men through pride built a lofty tower, and the Lord divided their tongues. Then they began not to understand one another. Hence arose the origin of many tongues. For before there was one tongue. But the one tongue proceeded from humble hearts. But when that assembly, in the conspiracy of pride, was cast down, God spared them by dividing their tongues, lest, by understanding one another, they should form a pernicious unity. Through proud men tongues were divided. Through the humble Apostles tongues were gathered together. The spirit of pride scattered the tongue. The Holy Spirit gathered the tongue. Those who wish for one tongue, let them come to the Church: because amid the diversity of the tongues of the flesh, there is one tongue in the faith of the heart. Cast them down and divide their tongues. Why?

For I have seen iniquity and contradiction in the city: iniquity in act, contradiction in words, in the city, that is, in the society of the wicked I have seen it. There is a certain turbulent city. It was this that had built the tower. It was thrown into confusion, and was called Babylon: it was scattered among countless nations. From it the Church is gathered into the desert of a good conscience. Christ came: the wicked city contradicted him. He stretched out his hands to a people who did not believe and who contradicted. What he says here, then, Iniquity, can be understood as their perfidy. For if he is just who lives by faith, he is unjust who has no faith. Therefore unbelief is iniquity. Nor is he alone unjust who does not believe, but also he who lives wickedly. For of such the Apostle speaks: Who profess to know God, but by their deeds deny him. Even now indeed the remnants of that city rage and contradict: of which it is further added:

Day and night, that is, continually, iniquity will surround it upon its walls, that is, upon its great ones. Men often say: No one would remain a pagan, if these were to become Christians. Those, therefore, who are not yet made Christians, are, as it were, walls of that city, both of the unbelieving and of the contradicting. Whoever defends another in sin is a wall of the wicked city. And labor is in the midst of it, and injustice. Therefore labor is there, because iniquity is there, because injustice is there. Wherever you see iniquity, there you will understand labor to be. He who is unjust will never have peace. For his own conscience torments him, and he is his own enemy. There is always labor in pride, just as, on the contrary, there is rest in humility. Hence the Savior warns us, saying: Learn from me, for I am meek and humble of heart, and you shall find rest for your souls. For whence do they labor, except because they are not meek and humble of heart?

And usury and deceit have not departed from its streets. Consider the people of the Jews, and see how these two vices always reign in them, namely deceit and usury. The streets of this city are pride, luxury, cupidity, avarice, and other such things. The way of this city is broad and spacious, which leads to death. Usury is when more is exacted than was lent. There is another, worse usury, when you do not forgive what is owed to you: and the eye of your heart is troubled at that verse where it is said: Forgive us our debts. Have you heard an insulting word? You wish to exact the punishment of condemnation: you are a money-lender of injuries. Have you been struck with a fist? You seek to kill: that is evil usury. Such usuries abound in that city. Deceit is when one thing is hidden in the heart, another pronounced with the mouth. But the wicked always wish to conceal what they are, and to display what they are not.

Then he shows that people to deserve punishment justly, because it was formerly familiar, and afterward cursed its Lord. But graver are the evils that are inflicted by friends.

For if my enemy, that is, the Gentile people, had cursed me, as the Jewish people cursed: I would surely have endured it, I would have judged it more tolerable and mild. And if he who hated me, when he worshipped idols, had spoken great things against me, that is, had insulted through pride: had magnified himself over me, and threatened me with whatever he could: I would perhaps have hidden myself, that is, withdrawn myself from him. But these words can be understood more specifically of Judas the traitor, because Jesus hid himself from the Jews: but he did not at all hide himself from Judas. But what does it mean that he says Perhaps? Can anything be uncertain with God? But this ambiguity of speech is set down according to the custom of human speech. For thus we are accustomed to speak: Perhaps I shall go there, perhaps I shall do this. Concerning enemies, I say, one ought to act more tolerably.

But you, O Judas, man according to carnality, of one mind through pretense, my leader through preaching, and known through faith: who, living together with me, took sweet foods, both bodily and spiritual. You, I say, O Judas, O perverse people, since you persist in so great an evil, are you to be tolerated? Judas and his people signify false brothers within the holy Church, who, since they live in pretense, oppress the elect the more grievously the more inwardly they are placed. Whom nevertheless the Lord teaches us to bear with by his own example: but they themselves will not escape eternal punishment. Let those who are such hear the sentence of death, to which it is added:

Let death come upon them, and let them go down into hell alive. Death will come upon them, when eternal damnation shall cover them. Alive shall they go down into hell, who understand that what they do is evil, and yet do not desist from it. What does "alive" mean? Knowing that they perish. On such far heavier condemnation falls than on others, as it is written: The servant who knew his lord's will, and did not do it, shall be beaten with many stripes. Let false brothers, then, fear—dissemblers, detractors, those displaying religion in outward dress, yet not living according to religion. For to them belongs this sentence, in which it is said: Let death come upon them, and let them go down into hell alive. Why?

For wickedness is in their dwellings. And not only in the corners, but even in the midst of them. As if he were to say: They are utterly full of wickedness: either in their dwellings, that is, in their bodies, in which they sojourn and do battle for a time, there is wickedness. And in the midst of them, that is, in the heart, the wickedness which they commit, they commit with their whole heart. Those who are such perish. But I have cried to the Lord, and the Lord saved me. If an enemy afflicts you, cry to God: and he will save you. Hence in another psalm he says: Call upon me in the day of tribulation, and I will deliver you.

Evening and morning, and at noon I will tell and declare, and he shall hear my voice. Evening is the Lord in death: morning in resurrection: noon in ascension. I will tell in the evening the patience of death. I will announce in the morning the life of the one rising. I will pray that he hear at noon, at the right hand of the Father. He shall hear me, who intercedes for us. And so, brethren, whom you see in this very gathering of these walls turbulent, puffed up, perverse: this is the chaff of the Lord's threshing floor. When he at the last shall winnow, all the chaff will fly away. But what shall we do, except sing with him, and pray, and lament in the psalm? And yet let us say securely what follows, Truly he shall hear my voice: because,

He shall redeem my soul in peace. For he himself is true peace. In peace the soul is redeemed, when it is transferred from vices to virtues, or from this world to the Father, through the grace of Almighty God. From whom shall he redeem? From those who draw near to me. For from those who are far from me, the case is easy. He does not so quickly deceive me who says: Come, worship an idol. He is far indeed from me, because he is a pagan. It is more dangerous to me from a Christian, who dwells with me in the house, and under the guise of religion prepares for me a snare of deception. Well do I say, Those who draw near to me: For I was among many. Much is the chaff and few the grains. Many are called, but few chosen. But these were not among the few to be saved, but among the many, that is, among those who belong to the chaff and to perdition, they were with me.

In the wheat they were not with me, but in the chaff they were with me: because chaff draws near to wheat. In the sacraments they were with me, in charity they were not with me.

God shall hear, and he who is before the ages shall humble them. Because though in time Christ our God was born of the Virgin Mary, yet in the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. He shall hear the humble in eternity: he shall humble those in damnation who are lifted up in dissension. And justly: For there is no change for them. Because they are not changed for the better, but descend into the worse. And they have not feared God. Just as the fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom: so not to fear God is the beginning of death. Blessed is the man who is always fearful. But he who is hard of mind shall fall into evil. Hence it is also added:

He shall stretch out his hand in retribution. This will be at the judgment, when God shall extend his avenging hand in vengeance. Hence elsewhere he threatens, saying: I will lift up my hand to heaven. If I shall whet my sword like lightning, and my hand shall take hold of judgment, I will render vengeance to my enemies, and repay those who hate me. And truly they are worthy to be punished: For they have profaned his covenant. Because they despised him who was proclaimed by the covenant of the law unto salvation. Therefore,

They were divided by the wrath of his countenance. For the wrath and severity of God, on account of this sin, divided them through the various parts of the world. These words also seem to pertain to heretics. For they do not cease to contaminate the covenant of God, while they wrongly understand and expound the sacred Scriptures. They contaminate God's covenant: because they do not cease to approve falsehood and error from it. And therefore they were divided by the wrath of his countenance. They were divided from the wrath of God's severity. For what Donatus says is not what Sabellius says. Nor does the Arian say what the Sabellian says. Separated from the unity of the catholic Church, they are divided through many errors. And his heart drew near. That we might understand his will. The division of heretics is of great value to us for understanding God. For many things lay hidden in the Scriptures, and when the heretics were cut off, they agitated the Church of God with questions.

What lay hidden was opened, and God's will was understood. For was there ever perfect treatment of the Trinity before the Arians rose in opposition? Nor were the things said about the very unity of Christ set forth in refined form, until after that separation began to press upon the weak brethren. Therefore those who knew how to treat and resolve these matters, lest the weak should perish, being troubled by questions, by the words and disputations of the impious, brought into the open what was obscure in the Law. Therefore those were divided by the wrath of his countenance: and for us his heart drew near for understanding. It is necessary (says the Apostle) that there be heresies, that they who are approved may be made manifest among you. His words were softened above oil, and they themselves are darts. For certain things in the Scriptures seemed hard: once expounded, they were softened. And rightly “above oil,” because oil soothes the flesh, but the sweetness of God's words soothes the soul. And they themselves are darts.

For they armed the preachers. And these very words are directed into the breasts of hearers by those who press on in season and out of season. That the words of God are darts, the Apostle attests where he says: The word of God is living and effectual, and more piercing than any two-edged sword. But perhaps you are not yet fit to be armed with these darts.

Cast your care upon the Lord. That is, expect everything from him, and nothing from yourself. Solomon calls the care of man a worm, by which man is gnawed as a garment by the moth. Cast, therefore, your care upon the Lord. Think upon him, so that you may remain tranquil with yourself. And he himself will nourish you, in faith and morals, in doctrine and virtues. And although here he may now have temptation, he will not give unending wavering to the just, that is, disturbance or agitation forever: but he will make him quiet in eternal life. He will not give unending wavering to the just. For even though for a time we waver, and are tempted, and are afflicted, we have our anchor fixed in heaven. Therefore he will not give wavering forever to the just, because after the temptation of the waves, he will prepare for him forever a harbor of rest. What is that harbor? Come, blessed of my Father, receive the kingdom prepared for you from the foundation of the world.

But you, O God, will bring them down into the pit of destruction. Whence he will say: Depart, you cursed, into everlasting fire. He calls hell a pit, because of its depth and darkness. This place is prepared for the wicked, that in it, as in a deep pit, they might fall and perish. God will bring down into the pit of destruction, not because he is the author of their guilt, but because he is the judge of their iniquity. Which iniquity he shows, when he adds, Men of blood, that is, persecutors and shedders of blood: And deceitful men, who by pretense and fraud deceive unwary souls: They shall not live out half their days, so as to return to penance: but they will continue in malice, even to the end. This is not to be understood of all. For many, after the shedding of blood and deceit, have turned to penance and salvation. But it is understood only of those who were divided by the wrath of his countenance.

Holy men halve their days, because what they fail in on other days, they pay off in the forty and other penitential days, in fasting and prayers. Or because some are converted to God in boyhood, some in youth, and some indeed in old age. Rightly, therefore, it is added: But I will hope in you, O God. That is, I will not place my hope in the world, not in man: but in you.

The title of the following psalm is this: Unto the end, for the people that is made far from the sanctuary, of David, for the inscription of a title, when the Philistines held him in Gath. This psalm is attributed to David, that is, to the Church, directing unto the end, a Psalm, I say, held for the people, that is, that he himself might be freed from the people who were made far from the saints, in the inscription of the title: because while the saints confess Christ as king of the Jews, as the title says, this people contradicts, either in word, as the Jews and pagans, or in deed, as evil Christians: when the Philistines held him in Gath. Gath was a city of the Philistines, that is, of foreigners, being certainly a people far from the saints. Gath is interpreted “winepress.” David fled to that city, but that he was held there we do not read according to the history.

Therefore our David, this Jesus Christ, not only did the Philistines hold him, but foreigners, that is aliens, still hold him, in Gath, that is, in the winepress, namely in the pressure of this life. The subject matter is Christ and the Church. And she herself speaks about herself. In the first part she asks to be freed from demons and from their members, placing in God the confidence of her deliverance. In the second, which begins where it says: All the day long my words, she enumerates those evils which that people does to her. In the third, which begins where it says, In me, O God, are your vows, she says that she will praise God forever. The intention is to admonish us, that we bear with patience the evils of this life, considering also that those who inflict evils upon us are turned toward us. And although the Church trusts in God concerning her deliverance, yet, attending to her own weakness, she begins to pray thus.

Have mercy on me, O God. Grant help against the persecution of evils. And it is necessary: For man has trodden me down. And the devil in the Gospel is called man, where it is said concerning the tares: An enemy man has done this. This enemy man, both through himself and through his members, does not cease to persecute and oppress the servants of God. When you have begun to live piously in Christ, you have entered the winepress. Prepare yourself for pressures. Do not fear, because man tramples you. You have become a grape, that you may be trodden. In the winepress there is fruitful pressing. The grape on the vine feels no pressure. It seems whole, but nothing flows from it. It is put into the winepress: it is trampled, it is pressed: an injury seems to be done to the grape: but that injury is not sterile, indeed if no injury were done, it would remain sterile.

Let us therefore attend to two enemies, the one we see, and the one we do not see, man and the devil. Let us love the former, beware of the latter. Let us pray for man, let us pray against the devil, and let us say to God: Have mercy on me, O God, for man has trodden me down. All the day long, that is, continually assailing me with words and suggestions, has troubled me, with open assaults. Against such this psalm confirms us. For it is necessary that we suffer such things to the end, which we would not suffer unless it were expedient for us. For every temptation is a proving, and the effect of every proving has its own fruit. And he shows through whom the devil makes this kind of assault upon the Church, when he adds:

My enemies have trodden me down all the day. In the manner of the grape which is pressed in the winepress, the members of the devil have oppressed me: and they were able to do so, Because many are fighting against me. What he set forth before concerning one, he now says concerning many: because the head of all the reprobate is the devil, who now by himself, now through his members, tramples and assaults the body of Christ, just as he did before also to the head. But let us hear what he adds as strong amid adversities.

From the height of the day, that is, from temporal pride, shall I fear? Far be it: or shall I fear from the height, that is, power, which indeed is not to be feared, because it is of the day, that is, granted for a time. This I will not fear, but rather I will place my hope in you. And this is what he adds: But I will hope in you. When those days that are high shall have passed, for indeed they are high for a time, at the end of their season of loftiness they shall fear. But I will hope in you. On the day of judgment the wicked indeed will fear, but the just will be secure. For then that will come which they hoped for, which they desired, which they prayed would come. Now he shows himself strong and steadfast, when he adds:

In God I will praise my words. He praises his words in God, who in what he says commends not himself, but God. Hence Truth itself says: My doctrine is not mine, but his who sent me, the Father's. Some book is praised, when it is said to have been composed by some named Philosopher, or by a perfect Grammarian. How much more are those words to be praised which are from God. But what in you is of God is honored by you: and you, made in God, will be honored by God. But if you honor what is of God in you as if it were yours, not God's, then just as that people was made far from the saints, so you will be far from the saint. Therefore, in God I will praise my words. If in God, why “mine”? But in God also “mine.” In God, because from him: mine, because I received them. In God have I hoped. A little before he had said, I will hope.

Now he has said, I have hoped, as one no longer fearing, as one confirmed. I will not fear what flesh can do to me. That is, any carnal man. Hope fixed in God expels all fear. It even despises transitory torments. For it begets charity. It begets patience, by which the world is trampled, the devil is overcome. You say, I will not fear what flesh can do to me: and what does it do to you?

All the day long they detested my words. That is, they judged my preaching detestable. All their thoughts against me were for evil. For the reprobate think nothing against the just except evil: how they might be able to destroy and bring to nothing them and their word. Nor is it only strangers who persecute, but also household members and intimates. Therefore he adds:

They will dwell and hide themselves: they will watch my heel. They dwell with me in one house, in one Church. They hide themselves under the clothing of sheep, but within they are ravening wolves. They hide themselves like lurkers, spies, they prepare snares: if they cannot immediately do the evil they contemplate, they watch the heel, so that at least in the end they may be able to fulfill what they have devised. This is the diabolical custom, or of those who are his ministers, that they watch the heel, that is, our last things, with insidious cunning. Hence it was said by the Lord to the serpent concerning the woman: She shall watch your head, and you shall lie in wait for her heel.

Therefore the servant of God must always be watchful and circumspect against the head of this cunning serpent: and by the Lord's help so arrange his life and habits, that those who dwell within and hide themselves, who watch the heel, may find nothing to reprehend, neither at the beginning nor at the end. But thus have they watched my heel: As they have waited for my soul. For the wicked, as it were, bear the life of the just as a heavy weight; whence the Jews said of the demoniac: He is grievous to us, even to behold. He is unlike our doings. Yet the psalm has taught us to pray even for such. For however great a sinner a man may be, the kindly God is able to save him. Whence he also adds:

For nothing, that is, for no preceding merits, wilt thou make them safe. Or thus wilt thou make them safe, that there be no labor for thee. Thou wilt not labor in healing, though we be astonished in beholding. In wrath thou shalt break the peoples in pieces. It seems wrath, but a father's wrath. A father is angered at his son who despises his precepts. Being angry he strikes with the palm, he beats, he leads to school: he breaks him, he presses him down from pride into discipline. How many have filled the house of God, drawn together in his wrath, that is, ground down by tribulations. Thou shalt break them in pieces, and I will contribute my part to their conversion. I will announce to them that I have done many evil things, and that these were forgiven me through confession: so that they, hearing this, may not despair of their sins, but by my example may obtain through confession the medicine of salvation. And therefore he says:

O God, I have declared my life to thee. As Paul declared his life, saying: Who before was a blasphemer, and a persecutor, and injurious: but I obtained mercy. He declared his life not for himself, but for that other one: because he declared it so that it might be believed by that man, not only for his own gain, but for another's. If for this reason you declare your life, that by your example you may invite others to confession, and to receiving the life which you have received: you declare your life to God, from whom you received grace, and you will have a greater reward, because from what you received you were not found ungrateful. Thou hast set my tears in thy sight. These tears, which I shed in declaring my sins, thou hast set in thy sight, that is, thou hast held them acceptable, and hast heard me. As also in thy promise. Because as thou hadst promised, so thou hast done. Thou saidst that thou wouldst hear one who weeps.

I believed, I wept, I was heard. I have found thee merciful in promising, truthful in fulfilling.

Then, that is, through thy breaking, and through my declaration, my enemies shall be converted from their evil life, so that they may be turned backward, that is, that they may follow thee. A man is not corrected by going before. It is good for him to be turned backward, and to follow him whom he wished to precede. A man goes before through pride. He is converted backward through humility. He who wishes to do his own will desires to go before. He who is always ready to obey becomes one who goes behind. Let the enemies therefore be turned backward, that those who had been proud may become humble. And thus those who had been enemies will become friends. Then he shows how swift is the mercy of God, when he adds: In whatsoever day I shall call upon thee, behold I have known that thou art my God. That is, my hearer.

Like unto this is that which is said elsewhere: In whatsoever hour the sinner shall be converted, and shall groan: all his sins shall be forgiven. For he does not delay through days and years, but, Turn ye to me (he says) and I will turn to you: follow backward, and I will lead you. The Church therefore, attending to so great a divine mercy, therefore does not say, Behold I have understood, that is, clearly perceived, that thou art God: but that thou art my God. Great is this knowledge. He does not say, I have known that thou art God: but that thou art my God. For he is thine, when he helps thee. He is thine, when thou art not estranged from him. Whence it is said: Blessed is the people whose God is the Lord. For whose is he not? Indeed he is God of all, but properly of those who love, fear, possess, and worship him.

Now made one with them through conversion and participation in the grace of God, he repeats the verse he had already spoken, that they too, with him and by his example, may say:

In God I will praise the word, and in the Lord I will praise the speech. The word is the preaching concerning faith: how we ought to believe one and threefold God, as the Apostle says: the word is near, in thy mouth and in thy heart, this is the word of faith which we preach. The speech concerns morals, when it is preached to us how we ought to live, how chastely, how soberly, how justly, how devoutly. And all these things we ought to refer to God, so that in what we rightly believe, or justly live, or rightly speak: both we in God, and God in us may be praised and honored. And because strength of hope ought to follow the speech of faith, it is rightly added: In God have I hoped, I will not fear what man can do to me. It is called faith, because it is made in God. But hope is as it were a foot (pes), because it leans upon him.

Faith avails us unto righteousness, because the just man lives by faith. By believing in God you turn away from evil, and do good. This is righteousness. Hope avails us for patience and contempt of the world. By hoping for eternal things, we easily despise earthly things, and bravely endure adversities. Hope in God is, as it were, our anchor. When the sailor fears a storm, he fixes his anchor. If we have fixed the anchor of hope in God, we shall fear no storm of this world. I will not fear (he says) what man can do to me: because even if he takes away temporal things, I still have spiritual things to offer thee.

In me, O God, are thy vows, which I will render, praises to thee. These are the true gifts and pleasing sacrifices which God requires of us, namely pious vows, holy desires, right faith, sure hope, perfect charity. Whoever pays such vows renders praises to almighty God. These are true riches, which a man does not fear to lose, unless he himself is willing to take them away. Whoever wishes to vow and render a free vow to the Lord God, let him vow and render himself. For this is what is required, this is what is owed. Let the image of Caesar be rendered to Caesar, let the image of God be rendered to God. And this indeed is just. Why?

Because thou hast delivered my soul from death. He puts the past for the future. For he who considers eternity in his mind reckons whatever can pass away already as though past. As if he should say: Because in the other life thou wilt deliver my soul from eternal death. And my feet from falling. Because there my affection will in no way be moved to evil. There will be no falling there, where there will be no temptation: there will be no falling there, where the blessed Trinity will be. Well therefore is added: that I may please before God in the light of the living. We shall please before God in the light of the living, when we shall appear before him immortal and without sin. For we shall be like him, since we shall see him as he is. There is the true light and eternal life. There the just shall shine as the sun in the kingdom of their Father.

Let all these things therefore avail us, that we may love God freely, that we may hope in him: and fear neither man nor devil. Let us bear with the wicked, let us be good: let us despair of no one. Let us pray for all whom we suffer: that both here in the light of faith, and there in the light of vision, as in the light of the living, we may please in the sight of God. Amen.

Unto the end, destroy not, of David, for the inscription of the title, when he fled from before the face of Saul into the cave. This psalm tends toward the end, that is, toward Christ, warning you, whoever you are, not to destroy David, that is, not to dishonor Christ in the inscription of the title changed by you, that is, by withdrawing yourself from the kingdom of Christ, namely by denying that Christ is King of the Jews: the inscription of the title having been changed by certain persons at that time, when David, that is Christ, fled from the face, that is, from the recognition, of Saul, that is, of the devil, or of the Jews, into the cave, that is, into his humanity or into the sepulcher. For because they recognized only the humanity of Christ, and saw him dead in the sepulcher, in no way perceiving that he was God: certain persons changed the inscription of the title, denying that Christ was King of the Jews. The subject matter is Christ.

In the first part, as in other psalms where he treats of the passion, he places prayer first. In the second part, which begins, He sent from heaven and delivered me: he touches briefly on his passion and glorification. In the third part, which begins, My heart is ready, O God: he shows that he renders great praise to God from his glorification. Christ shows in this psalm, through the mystery of his incarnation, passion, resurrection, and ascension, that the whole world must be subjected to the Christian faith. By this indeed he intends to admonish all, that no one should wish to withdraw himself from his kingdom through unbelief. And this he does by setting before us his incarnation, passion, resurrection, ascension. Thus therefore he begins:

Have mercy on me, O God, have mercy on me. You hear the Master praying: learn to pray. For to this end he prayed, that he might teach us to pray. To this end he suffered, that he might teach us to suffer. To this end he rose again, that he might teach us to hope for the resurrection. By doubling the prayer, he suggests to us a great necessity. This doubling of the prayer can also be referred to different things, in this way: Have mercy on me, O God, by giving me constancy in the passion; Have mercy on me, by making me rise again. And thou oughtest to have mercy, Because in thee, not in another, my soul trusts. As if he should say, I trust not only in thee in the present, but also in the future. Not only according to the body, but according to the soul. And therefore he further adds, and in the shadow of thy wings will I hope.

This is said by a similitude: as in the Gospel the Lord says of Jerusalem: How often would I have gathered thy children together, as a hen gathereth her chickens under her wings, and thou wouldst not? Indeed the divine goodness, with a certain maternal affection, protects with the wings of its mercy and power, and defends from the heat of vices those who hope in it. Well then he adds: Until iniquity pass away. Now in this world, as long as iniquity lasts, hope is necessary to every just man, that by hoping for eternal goods they may patiently endure temporal evils. Hence Paul admonishes, saying: Rejoicing in hope, patient in tribulation. And again: But if we hope for that we see not, we wait for it with patience. Now therefore iniquity abounds, pressing hard, against which patient righteousness and unfailing hope resist. In the death of the just, or at the end of the world, iniquity will pass away and there will no longer be hope, because it will already begin to possess what it patiently awaited.

Hence the Apostle says: Blessed is the man that endureth temptation: for when he hath been proved, he shall receive the crown of life. Meanwhile, let us hear what he, set in tribulation, adds:

I will cry to God the Most High. He commends our God to us, when he says the Most High, so that by his example he may stir us up to cry out, namely because he is Most High, because he is most powerful, because he is above all. Now crying out to God is our desire. The more each one desires, the more he cries out. He says Most High, and he says also gracious, when he adds: To God who hath done good to me. Hear how great are his benefits, that you may love God the more, and cry out the more devoutly.

He hath sent from heaven, that is, from on high or from his secret place. And hath delivered me, he hath given up to reproach them that trod me under foot. They have been scattered among all the nations, having stability nowhere, no fixed dwelling anywhere. But they are Jews still to this day for this reason, that they may carry books to their own confusion. Consider in what sort of book they are: the Jew carries the codex, from which the Christian may believe. They have become our librarians. Then he clearly suggests what God has sent from heaven, or from whom he has delivered him, when he adds: God hath sent his mercy and his truth. Of this sending Paul says: After the fulness of time came, God sent his Son on earth. Christ therefore is the mercy of God, because he forgives sins. Christ is the truth, because he fulfills what he promised. Consider the mercy sent to you, and turn from your sins. Consider the truth, and be secure concerning the promises.

And he snatched my soul from the midst of the whelps of lions. Who are the whelps of lions? The people wickedly seduced by the princes of the priests. Those are the lions, these are the whelps of lions. All roared. All surrounded him, from the midst of whom his soul was snatched away, but his body was slain. Whence he also adds: I slept, being troubled: Fear not (says the Lord) them that kill the body, but are not able to kill the soul. For what harm can they do to good men, only by killing the body? Nay rather they help, since they send them the sooner to the kingdom. But he says plainly, I slept. For death was to him a sleep: because as easily as anyone can be roused from sleep, so easily was it for our Lord to rise again from death. Whence he himself says: I have power to lay down my life, and to take it up again. I slept (he says), being first troubled in the passion. They troubled, he slept.

Great is the humility of the one troubled. Great is the power of the one sleeping. Nor could they trouble him, except as much as he willed. Who were those troublers? The sons of men, that is, the Jews who ought to have been imitators of the patriarchs and prophets who lived reasonably. How did they kill, who had no iron weapon? Their teeth are weapons and arrows, and their tongue a sharp sword. The teeth signify biting speeches, with which, as with weapons and arrows, sometimes at close quarters, sometimes from afar, sometimes openly, sometimes secretly, they strove to wound. Do not look at the unarmed hands, but at the armed mouth. Thence proceeded the sword by which Christ was to be slain, just as also from the mouth of Christ, whence the Jews would be slain. For he has a sword sharp on both sides, and rising again he struck them, that he might make them his faithful ones.

They had an evil sword, he a good one: they evil arrows, he good ones, namely good words, whereby he pierces the faithful heart, that it may be loved. When then did they strike, except when they cried out: Crucify, crucify? And what did they do to you, O Lord? Here the Prophet exults: He saw in spirit the Lord humbled, scourged, crowned with thorns, hung upon the wood. Them raging, but him enduring. Them exulting, him as if conquered. And after so great a humiliation he knew that he would rise again, and that all those things which the raging Jews did would be made vain: uplifted with joy as if he saw it happening, he cries out and says:

Be exalted above the heavens, O God. Man on the cross, God above the heavens. Let the raging ones remain on earth: be thou in heaven, judging. And thy glory above all the earth. For with the Lord seated in heaven at the right hand of the Father, the glory of his resurrection and divinity has been proclaimed in every land. We do not see the Lord exalted in heaven, but we believe it. But his glory in all the earth we not only believe, but also see. Then he returns to the words of the passion, and in the person of the Lord says:

They have prepared a snare for my feet, that is, they have stretched out deception before my acts: by likeness to a bird, which is held fast by the feet in a snare. And they have bowed down my soul. As much as concerns their own opinion. For they thought that they had so bowed it down, that it could no more return to the body and rise again. But this which is said of our Redeemer is daily wrought against us by malignant spirits. For they prepare a snare for our feet, since they stretch out hidden temptations before our good deeds, in order to hinder them. But the soul is bowed down, when it is bent from good to evil. The soul is bowed down, as often as it is entangled in earthly desires. Whence the Prophet says of the unclean spirits: Who said to thy soul: Bow down, that we may pass over. For the soul stands upright, when it desires the things above, and is bent in no wise toward the depths.

But the malignant spirits, when they perceive it standing thus in its uprightness, cannot pass through it. For their passing through is to scatter unclean desires within it. They say therefore, Bow down, that we may pass over: because if it does not cast itself down to seek the depths, their perversity in no way prevails against it, and they cannot pass through that which, rigid against them in its striving toward the heights, they greatly fear. We, therefore, dearly beloved brothers, we give a way to the malignant spirits within us, when we covet earthly things, when we bend ourselves to seeking temporal things. Let it therefore shame us to covet earthly things, and to offer the backs of our minds to adversaries climbing upon us. They have dug a pit before my face: and have fallen into it. They prepared death for me, but slew themselves within. No one sins against another before he sins against himself. The pit of the sinner is an evil conscience. There all the wicked must necessarily fall.

Do you think he has not fallen into the pit, who has lost the light of Christ, and has been struck with blindness? If he did not fall into the pit, he would see before him. He knows not where he goes. Just as one who walks on the road, when he has fallen into a pit, loses the road. Does an evil man afflict you? He prepares a pit for you, that you may perish. You are in distress: he rejoices. The wicked joy of the one doing evil, this very thing is the pit. Whoever falls into it, loses his eyes: he loses also his life through an evil conscience. And he says well, before my face: because it did not escape him. Knowingly he was betrayed, willingly he was slain. From these words is insinuated to us the true patience of our Lord. Whence it is also added:

My heart is ready, O God, my heart is ready. They prepared death, and my heart is ready to endure all things with a willing spirit. Therefore he repeats it, to note perseverance in patience. For one might endure for a moment, and afterward fail. The repetition of the word, then, is a confirmation. But the patience of good men receives the will of God with a readiness of heart, and glories in tribulations, saying: My heart is ready, O God, my heart is ready. They prepared a pit to oppress me, but I will prepare my heart to bear it. Therefore they fell into it: But I will sing, and recite a psalm. Singing refers to gladness of mind. The psalm to good working. To the praise of almighty God, singing ought to accord with the psalm, so that what is uttered by the mouth may be commended also by the deed. Then, the passion being completed, he announces that his flesh is to be raised, when he adds:

Arise, my glory, arise psaltery and harp. He speaks by command, Arise, as one having power to lay down his life, and to take it up again. But he calls his flesh glory, on account of immortality and divinity. For it was a great glory for Christ to arise, and to sit at the right hand of the Father. He also declares the hour of his resurrection, when he adds: I will arise early in the morning. For the Lord Jesus arose early on the first day of the week. And whence the one flesh arose, thence arose two instruments: namely the Psaltery and the Harp. The Psaltery sounds from the upper part, the Harp from the lower. Through his flesh the Lord wrought two kinds of deeds, namely miracles and sufferings. The miracles were from above, the sufferings from below. Those miracles which he did were divine, but he did them through the flesh. Flesh, therefore, working divinely is the psaltery.

Flesh suffering humanly is the harp: that the blind be given light, that the sick be healed, that the dead rise again, is the sound of the psaltery. That he hunger, thirst, sleep, be scourged, be slain, be buried, is the sound of the harp. You have, then, in one flesh the psaltery and the harp. And these two kinds of deeds fulfilled the Gospel, and are proclaimed to the Gentiles. And this is the fruit of the passion and resurrection.

I will confess to thee among the peoples, that is, I will acquire for thee confessors among the Jews, and I will sing a psalm to thee among the Gentiles, that is, I will acquire such persons among the Gentiles, who will sing a psalm, that is, will work well. Or, to thee, that is, in thy honor, I will confess and sing a psalm, that is, I will proclaim praise and good working, not only among the Jews, but also among the Gentiles. Observe that the very Son of God, from so great an act of justice, seeks not his own glory, but that of him who sent him: that no flesh should glory in itself, but he that glories, should glory in the Lord. And rightly shall I confess to thee, and I will sing:

Because thy mercy is magnified even to the heavens, and thy truth even unto the clouds. By heavens in this place we understand angels, archangels, and the other heavenly virtues. By clouds, however, the preachers of truth, men bearing this dim flesh: whence God thunders with precepts, and flashes with miracles. In heaven the angels praise God, seeing the very form of truth, without any dimness of vision. There is truth: and there is no need of mercy above, where no one is wretched. But here in our wretchedness mercy indeed is necessary. It would seem, then, that it might more fittingly have been said, Because thy truth is magnified even to the heavens, and thy mercy even unto the clouds. But if considered carefully, it is far more excellent and admirable that it is said, And mercy exalted even to the heavens, and truth even unto the clouds. For almighty God, through his mercy, has raised up sinful men even to the angels. Whence it is now said: Because mercy is magnified even to the heavens.

And because truth, which is strong in the angels, has come to men, it is rightly added, And thy truth unto the clouds. Glory to our God, because mercy has not failed to make us blessed, nor has truth been defrauded: but he has healed the eye of our heart, that we may afterward be able to see him face to face. For so great a joy and benefit the Psalmist repeats the verse which he had already spoken:

Be exalted above the heavens, O God, and thy glory above all the earth. Which is perhaps repeated for this reason, because around this verse the intention and profit of the psalm chiefly turns.

Unto the end, destroy not, David, for an inscription of a title. This psalm is at times unto the end, that is, unto Christ. Warning you not to destroy David, that is, not to dishonor Christ, in the inscription of a title changed by certain persons, namely, lest you diminish the kingdom of Christ, by withdrawing yourself from his kingdom: but through the king of the Jews, confess Christ. And this is the intention, as in another psalm: destroy not Christ. The Jews are the subject matter, by contrast, since Christ ought to be the principal one. We are admonished in this psalm not to be withdrawn from the kingdom of Christ, that is, from the fellowship of the saints. And this Christ does, by setting before us the blindness of the Jews, and their local dispersion, and their future damnation: so that, seeing the damnation of the deeds of the wicked, we may be deterred from imitating them.

He also sets before us the joy of the just, which they have in hope of future glory: so that, seeing their joy, it may allure us to imitate them. The voice of the prophet:

If in very deed you speak justice, judge rightly, ye sons of men. As if he should say: You Jews, who are sons of men, who ought to be imitators of your fathers the prophets who lived reasonably: if in very deed you speak justice in the law and the prophets (which indeed you do), judge rightly, that is, discern and believe, that Christ our Lord is himself God. For this the justice of your law commends and prophesies to you. Or, Judge rightly, that is, live, discerning good from evil, according to the justice which you speak. For to speak good things, and do evil things, is a judgment of condemnation. Whence the very Truth says to the Pharisees: Hypocrites, how can you speak good things, whereas you are evil?

For in your heart you work iniquities, upon the earth. To work iniquities in the heart, is to bear an evil will. For a wicked will is reckoned by God as though it were the deed. And he says well, Upon the earth, that is, cleaving to earthly things. For when the heart is fixed upon the earth, thence iniquity is generated in the heart. Your hands work injustices. That is, your wicked actions accord with your wicked wills. Or, for hands to work injustices together, is to heap up unjust deeds upon unjust deeds. According to what is said elsewhere by the Psalmist, Add iniquity upon their iniquity, and let them not enter into thy justice. And according to John: He that is filthy, let him be filthy still. Then he turns to his hearers, and shows their error and hardness of heart, that every hearer may take heed, lest, erring in like manner, he perish likewise. He says therefore:

Sinners are estranged from the womb, that is, from the very exit; they have erred from the belly, that is, from the very conception. They have spoken falsehoods. The truth having been abandoned. This is not to be understood as if we should suppose them to have erred in their mother's womb; for the infant cannot then be capable of sense or understanding. Rather, it is to be understood thus: that almighty God foreknows from the very womb, before they are born, who are going to sin and are going to persevere in error and falsity. Hence it is that, while Rebecca was still pregnant and carried twins in her womb, it was said: "Jacob I have loved, but Esau I have hated". There the judgment of God is hidden, and therefore all the more to be feared. Otherwise are infants born within the inward parts of the Church: it is good that they come forth already formed, lest they fall away at their very rising. Let your mother bring you forth, let her not miscarry you.

Be patient until you are formed. Let the maternal inward parts hold you, until the doctrine of truth is made sure within you. But if by impatience you shake the mother's inward parts, with pain indeed, he who is brought forth into doctrine and does not believe, or lives wickedly, comes forth from the womb as though formed, but is repelled as a stranger. He who begins to be instructed, and is not yet fully taught, goes forth from the fellowship of the saints: this one, like an abortion, is cast out from the womb of Mother Church. Since therefore the Jews, from the time they knew the Law, withdrew from the faith and righteousness of that same maternal Law, it is rightly said of them now: "Sinners have erred from the womb." And because some of that same people, less capable, disdained to be instructed: it is said of them, "They have erred from the belly." And because they were estranged and have erred, therefore they have spoken falsehoods. For he who abandons truth must necessarily speak falsehood.

Behold to what great madness those erring have come.

Their fury is according to the likeness of a serpent.

Their error has turned into fury, not human, but serpentine and venomous. For there was the venom of envy in their fury. Hear of what serpent the fury was in them. Like that of the deaf asp, and one that stops up her ears. Therefore deaf, because she stops up her ears.

Which will not hear the voice of those who charm, and of the sorcerer charming wisely. Here a certain similitude is given concerning the Marsian charmer. He who charms, in order to draw out the asp from its dark cave, certainly wishes to draw it out into the light. But she, loving her caves, in which, coiled up, she hides herself, is said, when she does not wish to come out, refusing to hear those voices by which she perceives herself being compelled, to press one ear to the ground, and to stop up the other with her tail. And thus, avoiding those voices as much as she can, she does not come out to the charmer. To such as these the Spirit of God likened certain ones not hearing the word of God, and not only not doing it, but altogether unwilling even to hear it, lest they should do it.

So these, when preachers wish to draw them out of the pit, that is, out of the depth of their vices, and to slay this—namely, that they are sinners (whence it was said to Peter: "Kill and eat")—and to draw out from there the venom, that is, their sins: they themselves, unwilling to hear the truth, but remaining in their pit, unwilling to aspire to the true light, apply one ear of the heart to the earth, that is, to present delight; and stop up the other with the tail, that is, with the memory of past delights. It is not said "wisely" in order to praise the charming, but the comparison holds good. This happened also in the first times of the faith. Stephen the martyr preached the truth, and, as it were to minds in darkness, charmed them so as to draw them into the light. When he came to the commemoration of Christ, whom they were altogether unwilling to hear, what does Scripture say of them?

"They stopped up," it says, "their ears." And what did they do afterward? The narrated passion of Stephen declares it. They were not deaf, but they made themselves deaf. They, I say, have spoken falsehoods; but what will God do? Hear what follows.

God shall break their teeth in their own mouth. That is, he shall destroy their biting questions in their own reply, as it is written concerning the tribute of Caesar. What is "in their own mouth"? That they should pronounce sentence against themselves with their own mouth. For he compelled them to give judgment with their own mouth, whereby their teeth were broken. For when they said that the image on the coin was Caesar's, and the Lord commanded that the things which are Caesar's be rendered to Caesar, and the things which are God's to God, they had nothing to reply, nothing with which to bite, because their teeth were broken in their own mouth. So too, when questioned about John's baptism, they knew not what to reply. The Jews therefore were asps, when they lay in wait for Christ, hissing and striving to inject their venom: but their teeth were broken in their own mouth. Afterward they cried out, "Crucify him, crucify him".

Now it is no longer the tongue of the asp, but the roaring of the lion. But the Lord shall break the grinders of the lions. As by teeth we understand biting questions, so by grinders we understand stronger and sharper persuasions concerning the death of Christ. At first they tried to deceive secretly, like asps; afterward they began openly to gnash against the death of Christ, like lions. He was crucified, he rose again, he ascended into heaven, he was glorified, adored by men, by kings. The grinders of the lions, therefore, were broken, that is, the accusations and false testimonies, which they can no longer bring forward against Christ. Concerning which it is further added:

They shall come to nothing, like water running down. All the proud and impious, resounding against the rocks of their own pride, run down like water and come to nothing. Consider the persecutors of the martyrs: they resounded for a time like a torrent: they ran in their streams as much as they could: their streams have dried up, scarcely is their memory found. And not only they, but this whole age resounds for a time, running like water. It flows on in vices and lusts, seeking whom to drag along. Let not the wicked therefore be feared: they cannot endure. It is necessary that they run down to their own place, to their own end. And yet from that torrent God drank. And because he drank, therefore he lifted up his head; because he suffered, therefore he rose again. If he had not been willing to drink of the torrent by the way, he would not have died, would not have risen, would not have been glorified.

Therefore he drank of the torrent by the way, and therefore he lifted up his head. Our head is now lifted up: let his members follow him, drinking of the torrent. Let them not fear the roaring waters, the threatening peoples, the persecutors: because God bends his bow until they are weakened. The bow of God is the threats of God, which do not cease. The bow is bent, it does not yet strike. Many have been weakened, terrified by the very bending of the bow. For hence was that man weakened, who said: "What do you bid me do? I am," he said, "Jesus of Nazareth, whom you persecute". He who cried from heaven was bending the bow. Many, therefore, who were enemies, were weakened and converted. They did not long dare to stiffen their necks against the perseverance of the bent bow. For that man too was weakened, who said: "When I am weak, then am I powerful".

And when he prayed that the thorn of the flesh be taken from him, it was answered him: "Virtue is made perfect in weakness." Or, to bend the bow is to prepare vengeance; "until they are weakened," that is, thoroughly debilitated from their own strength, so that they may no longer be able to harm the good. For God permits the wicked to rage against the good only so far as he knows it will profit the good, either for the correction of morals, or for the increase of virtues, as it is written: "God is faithful, who does not permit you to be tempted beyond what you are able to bear, but makes also, with the temptation, a way out". Whence it is further added concerning the reprobate:

Like wax that melts, they shall be taken away. He does not say "they shall be converted," but "they shall be taken away." For the heat of vices consumes them, as fire consumes wax. They are dissolved from all steadfastness of virtue, going into their lusts, dissolved and flowing. Of such the Apostle says: "The Lord delivered them up to the desires of their heart, unto uncleanness, that they might do the things which are not fitting". Then he enumerates many evils into which they melt away, dissolved as wax; and afterward adds, "For those who do such things are worthy of death". Whence follows this, and it says: Fire has fallen upon them, and they have not seen the sun. One fire is that of avarice, another of luxury, another of pride, another of envy, another of anger. Such a fire is smoky and full of darkness: upon whomever it falls, he shall not see the sun.

I do not mean that sun which the Lord made to rise upon the good and the evil: but I mean that sun of which they shall say in the judgment: "And the sun has not risen for us". All those things have passed away like a shadow: we have erred from the way of truth, and the light of justice has not shone upon us. Therefore, brothers, fear the fire of concupiscence, if you do not wish to melt like wax before the face of God. And it must be noted that the punishment of the impious has two kinds: one in the present, the other in the future. One is the fire of concupiscence, the other the eternal fire. This punishment of concupiscence the Spirit of God commends to us even to the end of the psalm. Let us beware of this, and we shall not fall into that terrible one. Carnal delight indeed is born with man, but he who is well instructed quickly sees his enemy, and attacks, and wrestles, and quickly conquers.

But he who neglects to conquer that concupiscence with which he was born from the propagation of sin, and still arouses many lusts, and puts them forth, overcomes them with difficulty, and, divided against himself, is consumed by his own fire. And lest they should understand that this happens only in the future, turning himself toward them, to make them more attentive, he determines it thus: Upon you has fallen fire, O Jews.

Before your thorns could understand the buckthorn. That is, before your sins made you understand that they are like the buckthorn. The buckthorn is a plant which is soft at first, but afterward, when it ripens, has very sharp prickles. So are sins: at first indeed soft and delightful, but afterward they prick most grievously. For temporal delight is followed by the pains and stings of torments. Then there will also be the compunction of repentance, but late and fruitless, like the sterility of thorns. The repentance of this present time is a healing pain. The repentance of that time is a penal pain. Those who love this transitory pleasure do not understand this: because "Fire has fallen upon them, and they have not seen the sun." This fire, as living men, as in wrath, shall swallow them up. That is, it shall devour and lay them waste. Why does it not say "living," but "as living," except because the life of the impious is false? For he does not truly live, who is separated from the Lord.

And why not "wrath," but "as in wrath," except because God does this in tranquillity? As it is written: "But you, O Lord of virtues, judge with tranquillity". Or "as in wrath," and it is not to be called true wrath in comparison to that which is to come in the judgment. But whence the wicked are punished, thence the good advance to righteousness. For it is added:

The just shall rejoice when he shall see the vengeance. He shall not rejoice for this reason, that the punishment of the wicked should be a cause of joy for the just man. But he shall rejoice for this reason, that he himself will not be a partaker of their punishment. Consider the punishment of the wicked even in this age, even amid their own pleasures. Behold, while some possess what they desired, they desire certain other things, which they are unable to attain. For those things which they do not have, they are tormented with desire: for those things which they do have, they are tormented either with weariness or with fear. Behold, that one burns with avarice, another is inflamed with luxury, another is set on fire with anger, another is kindled with the torches of envy. Thus does almighty God avenge himself of the wicked even in the present, and scourges them with their own desires and vices.

When the just man sees this vengeance, he shall rejoice: because, helped by the Lord's merciful grace, he is not entangled in such things. This too, by living rightly: he shall wash his hands in the blood of the sinner, that is, he shall cleanse his own actions from the consideration of the vengeance upon the reprobate. When he sees the sinner's punishment, he himself makes progress; and the death of another avails for his own life. Consider, therefore, the impious man perishing, and purify yourself from sins. Thus you will in a certain manner wash your hands in the blood of the sinner.

And man shall say, If indeed there is fruit for the just: surely there is a God judging them on earth. He is truly called a man who makes use of his reason. This one will say, Indeed there is fruit for the just. Even in this life, before the eternal life comes. In faith there is fruit, in temptation and tribulation there is fruit, in patience there is fruit, in charity there is fruit for the just. But if this is so, surely there is a God judging, that is, reckoning the wicked worthy of condemnation, not yet on the last day, not yet in the eternal fire, not yet among the dead below: but here on earth. He proves it from the opposite, as if he were briefly saying: If the just man has the fruit of salvation in this earth, in that he is just, surely also the impious man has similarly in this earth the judgment of condemnation, in that he is impious. For contraries agree with contraries.

Let the discerning man therefore pay attention and judge. For thus the psalm admonishes: Judge rightly, O sons of men. Let him distinguish the good from the evil, and by their example flee from those who perish, lest he too perish together with them. But let him strive to imitate those who are saved, that he too, with the Lord's help, may be able to attain the same salvation.

And. As Scripture is accustomed to place the mysteries of the psalms in the titles, and to adorn the front of the psalm with the sublimity of the sacrament: so that we who are about to enter may know, when we have read, as it were above the doorpost, what is done within, and whose house it is, or who is the endowed possessor of it: so also in this psalm a title is written concerning a title. For it has, Unto the end, destroy not David, for the inscription of a title, when Saul sent, and watched his house to kill him. This psalm tends unto the end, that is, unto Christ. Admonishing you, whoever you are, not to destroy David, that is, Christ, by regard to the inscription—this is what I meant by "a title concerning a title." For what the inscription of this title is, which it forbids to be corrupted, the Gospel shows.

For when the Lord was being crucified, a title was inscribed by Pilate, and set up, King of the Jews, in three languages, Hebrew, Greek, and Latin: which became widely known throughout the whole world. Therefore if the King of the Jews was crucified, and the Jews crucified their own king, by crucifying him they made him king of the Gentiles more than they killed him. And indeed, as far as it was in them, they destroyed Christ, but for themselves, not for us. And he died for us, and redeemed us by his blood, and the title was not corrupted: because he is king not only of the Gentiles, but also of the Jews themselves. Therefore, "destroy not," most excellently and prophetically spoken: since indeed those Jews then suggested to Pilate, and said: Write not, The King of the Jews, but write, that he said, I am King of the Jews. For this title (they said) will confirm to us that he is king. And Pilate said, What I have written, I have written.

And it was fulfilled, "Destroy not." That is, of the title then confirmed, when Saul, that is, the Jewish people, sent guards, and watched his house, that is, his tomb. But what is meant by what follows, "that he might kill him"? Was not Jesus already killed when he was placed in the tomb? But there was something else which they sought to kill in him, namely his name and fame. Therefore they also guarded the tomb, lest the disciples should steal his body, and say, He has risen from the dead. Therefore the Jewish people guarded the tomb of Christ, that they might kill him, that is, that they might extinguish his fame. This is truly to wish to kill Christ, to extinguish the name of his resurrection, so that a lie might be preferred to the Gospel.

But just as Saul was not able to bring it about that he should kill David, so neither could the kingdom of the Jews bring it about that the testimony of the sleeping guards should prevail more than that of the watchful Apostles. The subject matter is Christ, concerning whom the psalm deals as follows. In the first part, he asks for deliverance and exaltation. In the second he shows the conversion of the Gentiles, which proceeds from that exaltation and deliverance of Christ: and it begins there: They shall be converted at evening. In the third, the conversion of the Jews, which begins there: And concerning the execration and the lie. In the fourth he sets forth the praise which the whole Christ renders concerning it, namely for his own deliverance and for the conversion of Jews and Gentiles, which begins there, But I will sing. The intention is, "destroy not David," as in the others.

Christ shows in this psalm that through his passion the Gentiles will attain the grace of conversion, and by their example the Jews will at last be converted. But those who persist in unbelief will be punished without mercy: by these examples he intends to admonish us, that shunning their perfidy, and conforming ourselves to the faith of the converted, we should not withdraw ourselves from his kingdom, but strive to be subject to it. The voice of Christ:

Deliver me from my enemies, O my God: and defend me from them that rise up against me. Deliver me from them that work iniquity, and save me from bloody men.

In these two verses four kinds of persecutors of Christ are designated. For some so showed enmity to Christ that they concealed their hatred in their hearts. Others so, that they rose up against him, and resisted the truth with open voice. Therefore in the first verse he asks to be delivered both from enemies and from those rising up against him. Some, moreover, committed wicked deeds, to the extent that they seized the Savior himself with their hands, dragged him, and scourged him; some raged so far that they hung him on the cross, drove nails into his hands and feet, pierced his side with a spear, and, his blood being poured out, slew the author of life. Therefore in the second verse there is, both that he be delivered from those working iniquity, and that he be saved from bloody men. And it is necessary that you should deliver me:

For behold, that is, openly, they have taken my soul.

He has put a part for the whole. For they could not have held the soul of Jesus without the body. They have taken (he says) my soul: and this they did with a certain greedy and disordered and ruinous impulse. Whence it is added: The mighty have rushed in upon me. It must carefully be considered who these mighty ones are. First the Lord called the devil himself mighty. No one, he says, can enter into the house of a strong man, and plunder his goods, unless he first bind the strong man. For he bound the strong man with the bonds of damnation, and plundered his goods, that is, souls, and made them his own. There are also among men certain mighty ones with a reprehensible strength, who presume upon temporal happiness. Such men the Spirit of God reproves in another psalm, saying: Why do you glory in wickedness, you who are mighty in iniquity? Again there are other mighty ones, who presume not on their vices, but on their own righteousness.

Such was the strength that hindered the Jews.

For since they seemed just and whole to themselves, they refused the medicine, they killed the physician. That strength is not health, but madness. To this end, therefore, the Master of humility came, made a partaker of our frailty, that he might teach us to be weak, and to confess our sins: that we might be strong, not in ourselves, but in God. Having shown the necessity of his deliverance, he shows that he is worthy that he should be delivered, when he adds:

Neither is it my iniquity, nor my sin, O God.

Iniquity in respect to one's neighbor, sin in respect to oneself. Or, iniquity in graver matters, sin in lighter ones. It can be understood: the mighty, that is, the proud, rushed upon me: but they found no fault, but rather: Without iniquity I have run, that is, I have wrought well, and I have directed others toward doing well, by preaching and by example. To run without iniquity and to direct others is to live perfectly without any admixture of evil, and to show a good example to others. For good deeds cannot be pleasing to God which are mixed with evil ones. And it should be noted that he does not say, "I have walked," but "I have run": because one must not only do good, but also hasten with the very step of good work. According to what is written: Whatever your hand is able to do, do it earnestly: for there is neither work nor reason among those below, whither you are hastening. And the Apostle says: So run, that you may obtain.

Or, "to run," of our Redeemer, is to carry out the obedience of the Father freely and without any hindrance: as it is written elsewhere: He rejoiced as a giant to run the way. And again: Whatever he shall do shall prosper. And lest this should seem to be attributed to his own strength, he therefore adds, in supplication:

Rise up to meet me.

As if he were saying: Help me in the advancement of virtues, by giving me resurrection: and see. That is, make me appear equal to you. This is said according to that figure by which it was also said to Abraham: Now I know that you fear God, that is, now I have made you to know. For anyone is unknown before the questioning of temptation. Rise up, therefore, and see, that is, make others see and know my exaltation: so that those who saw me cast down may see me exalted. And you, O Lord God of hosts, God of Israel, attend to visit all nations.

That you may deign to visit those who are weak and burdened with sins, giving the grace of health, and sending your preachers: that just as you are the God of hosts, that is, of angels, and the God of Israel, that is, of the Israelite people, so also you may deign to be the God of the Gentiles, so far as to make them partakers both of the angels and of the Israelite faithful. But what follows is greatly to be feared: Have mercy on none of them that work iniquity.

For who is without iniquity? But this is to be understood of those who persist in iniquity. Let us therefore punish our own sins, if we seek the mercy of God. For if we do not punish ourselves, he does not have mercy, but punishes. Because every iniquity, whether great or small, must necessarily be punished, either by God himself judging, or by the man himself repenting. And truly you will attend to visit all nations: because, at your inspiration, they will be converted. This is what follows:

They shall return at evening: and shall suffer hunger like dogs, and shall go round about the city.

This has already been fulfilled, and continues to be fulfilled. Having abandoned idolatry, at evening, in this last age, they are converted to the worship of God, and, hungering and thirsting for righteousness, they suffer hunger, like dogs, as sinners. By the name of dogs the Gentiles are rightly designated, on account of the uncleanness of sin. Of these was that Canaanite woman, to whom the Lord said: It is not good to take the bread of the children, and to cast it to dogs. Which she, acknowledging, humbly answered: Yea, Lord. But since she was suffering hunger like a dog, she immediately added: Yet the little dogs eat of the crumbs that fall from the table of their masters. Therefore the Lord attended to visit her, on account of her faith and humility, and said to her: O woman, great is your faith: be it done to you as you will.

Such dogs do not cease to go about the city of God, searching out with keen mind the life and manners of the holy fathers, of whom the city of God is built. Or, dogs may be understood as the holy preachers, who, in asserting the truth against thieves and robbers, gave forth (so to speak) mighty barkings. They suffered hunger, desiring that all be incorporated and united to themselves by faith, and they went about the city, that is, the world, preaching the gospel everywhere. Whence it is also added:

Behold, they will speak, that is, they will openly proclaim with their mouth, that is, in a manner suitable to themselves. Because what they speak in word, they will confirm by deed and example. Or, with their mouth, that is, freely, boldly, with authority. And a sword is on their lips. A two-edged sword, of which the Apostle said: And the sword of the spirit, which is the word of God. Why two-edged? Because it strikes from both testaments. By this sword were slain those to whom it was said to Peter: Kill and eat. But they will be indignant, since there will be many who will not hear with a hearing ear. And this is what follows: For who has heard? Hence the prophet says: Who has believed our report, and to whom has the arm of the Lord been revealed? We preach (says the Apostle) wisdom hidden in a mystery, which the world has not known. In the time of the martyrs too, rarely were there found those who would hear the word of God.

I have said, You shall not have mercy on any who work iniquity: and so it shall be. Whence it is also added:

And you, Lord, shall laugh them to scorn, that is, you shall show them worthy of derision. This will happen at the judgment, when he says to them: Go into everlasting fire. From this it also appears that the Gentiles will be converted: for you shall bring all the nations to nothing. Everyone who is converted to God must first be brought to nothing. Hence Truth says: Whoever wishes to come after me, let him deny himself. He denies himself who, by changing for the better, ceases to be what he was, and begins to be what he was not. Paul was brought to nothing when he said: I live, now not I, but Christ lives in me. Hence also he says: He who thinks himself to be something, when he is nothing, deceives himself. Abraham was brought to nothing when he said: I will speak to my Lord, though I am ashes and dust. Thus each one, first failing in himself, begins to be strong in God. He recognizes himself as such, when he immediately adds:

I will keep my strength for you. For those strong ones who rushed upon me fell for this reason: because they did not keep their strength for you, but presumed on themselves. But I will keep my strength for you: for if I withdraw, I fall; if I draw near, I become stronger. See what is in the human soul. It has no light of itself; it has no strength of itself; but all that is beautiful in the soul is virtue and wisdom. But it is not light to itself, nor is it virtue to itself. God is a certain origin and fountain of virtue and wisdom, from whom the soul, withdrawing, is darkened, and drawing near, is illumined. Therefore I will keep my strength for you, I will not withdraw from you, I will not presume on myself: and rightly so, for you, God, are my helper. You took up my humanity, joining it to your divinity: you took me up to heal me, as a physician a sick man, O my God who made me.

His mercy shall go before me. Where was I lying? To what was I raised up? Behold why I ought not presume on myself: because my merits did not go before, but divine mercy went before me, that I might be just. It should not trouble us that he frequently changes persons. For such is the practice of prophecy. Sometimes it turns to a familiar address to the Lord, from whom it receives the revelation of prophecy; sometimes it turns to the hearers, to edify them from what it has learned by the Lord's revelation; sometimes it speaks in its own person; sometimes in the person of the members; sometimes in the person of Christ. Whence now it is added: God has shown me over my enemies. How much mercy he had toward me, he showed in those toward whom he did not have it. For unless a debtor were held in suspense, he who has his debt released gives less thanks. What of the enemies themselves? Slay them not, lest at any time my people forget.

Do not slay these very enemies who killed me. Not without cause, when Cain had killed his brother, God placed a sign upon him, that no one should kill him. This is the sign that the Jews have. They keep the remnants of their law, they are circumcised, they observe the sabbath, they eat unleavened bread. They are therefore Jews, they are not slain. They are necessary to believers, that God may show us his mercy over our enemies. Having cut off the branches of pride, he shows his mercy by grafting in the wild olive. Behold where those who were proud now lie; behold, there you who were lying are grafted in. And you, do not be proud, lest you deserve to be cut off. Therefore, that the faithful people may not forget the grace of God, the blinded Jews live before their eyes, that from their blindness they may always gather how much thanks they owe to almighty God for their own illumination. Scatter them by your power.

This was fulfilled by Titus and Vespasian, who took the people of the Jews captive. Yet this is not to be ascribed to their own power, but to God's, who granted them the ability to do this. For all power is from God. Therefore it was not said, Scatter them by the power of the enemies, but, by your power: because (as has been said) all power is from God. And not only scatter, but, O Lord, who protect and defend me, bring them down from the fear of pride. This is what follows: And bring them down, my protector, O Lord. Then he shows what he wants brought down in them.

The offense of their mouth, the word of their lips. The word of their lips and the offense of their mouth occurred when they said of Christ: He has a devil: He is guilty of death, and other such things. But he calls this offense "the word of their lips" because they spoke such reproaches openly, they proclaimed them publicly. Bring down and destroy such an offense, such a word, and take it from their mouth and lips. In this I wish you to bring them down, not according to nature, but according to guilt. They tried to kill me. But you, by raising up Christ, whom they wished to destroy, killed the offense of their mouth, the word of their lips. For indeed, him whom they cried out should be destroyed, they feared to see alive; and him whom they despised on earth, they marveled to see adored in heaven by all nations. Thus let offenses be blotted out: And let them be caught in their own pride. And truly they were caught.

For he whom they killed in their pride rose again; and their deed came to nothing, but the sin remained. Since therefore the deed was made void, but the sin remained upon those who did it: They were caught in their own pride, convicted of having acted wickedly and proudly. It remained then that they should confess their sin, and that he should forgive who had come to loose sins. This has already happened in some. It will happen later in more. Therefore it is added: And for cursing and lying they shall be told of in the end. Concerning their cursing of the Lord, and their lying that his body was stolen, being led out from that through penance and confession, they shall be told of in the end, that is, they shall be proclaimed to be perfect. From the very greatness of their sin they will be more humbled, and will merit to be raised up with greater humility, and will be all the more perfect, because they will grieve at having committed so execrable a sin.

And this shall happen,

In the wrath of consummation, and they shall not be. Every vengeance of God is called wrath. But often God takes vengeance for this, that he may perfect, as it is written: He scourges every son whom he receives. Often he takes vengeance for this, that he may condemn, as he is going to say to the reprobate: Go into everlasting fire. The wrath of consummation, then, is the wrath of correction, when, in paternal wrath, God avenges faults in this world, that he may amend and perfect. And so they shall be told of their consummations in the wrath of consummation, that is, in such wrath as consummates them and perfects them. And they shall not be (understand) such as they had been before: namely proud, cursing, lying. In this manner it is said elsewhere: Overturn the wicked, and they shall not be. And they shall know that the Lord shall rule Jacob, that is, the Jewish people, and the ends of the earth, that is, the Gentiles through all lands.

Then they will recognize that the same God is God both of the Jews and of the Gentiles. Before, they seemed just to themselves, because they had received the law, because they had kept God's precepts. It has been shown them that they did not keep it: because in it they did not understand Christ. They will see that they ought not despise the Gentiles. For all have sinned and need the grace of God. They will lay down their pride, and will not envy the salvation of the Gentiles: because they will recognize their weakness as equal to theirs, and joined together in the cornerstone they will worship God together. It is therefore said of the Jews what was said above of the Gentiles:

They shall be converted at evening, that is, at the end of the age. For the remnant shall be saved. And they shall suffer hunger for the word of God like dogs, that is, like sinners. And they shall go about the city, that is, the Church of the saints, investigating its life and morals; or they shall go about the city, that is, the world, evangelizing it. Whence it is openly added:

They shall be scattered abroad to eat, that is, to incorporate others into themselves in the faith of the Lord Jesus Christ. But if they shall not be satisfied, that is, if the preaching does not bear fruit according to their desire, they too, like the Gentiles, will murmur: just as it was said above, Lord, who has heard? But let the psalm now be concluded. See the cornerstone rejoicing, now rejoicing over both walls. The Jews were proud; they have been humbled. The Gentiles despaired; they have been raised up. Let them come to the corner. Let them meet there: these from circumcision, those from uncircumcision. But let them hold themselves in the corner. And let us hear what the whole Church now adds. But I will sing your strength, and will extol in the morning your mercy.

The holy Church of the elect will sing and rejoice at the strength by which it overcame the devil, by which it conquered death, by which it despoiled hell; and at his mercy, by which he redeemed the human race and forgave sins. All these things the Church will sing and exult in, and this in the morning, that is, at the resurrection, when, the darkness of this age having passed, the sun of righteousness shall appear, and the just shall shine as the sun, in the kingdom of their Father (Wisdom 3). For now it cannot perfectly sing the song of the Lord in a strange land, as long as it sits and weeps over these waters of Babylon, amid these currents of the present life. But when it shall pass over to the place of the wonderful tabernacle, even to the house of God, then there shall be singing in the voice of exultation and praise. Whence elsewhere it is said: Blessed are they who dwell in your house, O God, they shall praise you forever and ever.

And he gives the reason why he should sing and rejoice, when he adds:

Because you have become my helper, and my refuge in the day of my tribulation. In this present life, in which everyone who lives justly is troubled, you have become, from that very tribulation, my helper, and a safe refuge from imminent dangers. For unless you had taken me up and saved me, there would be no one who could subsist amid so many and so great evils. Therefore he further adds:

My helper, to you will I sing. The good works which I have performed, with your inspiration and aid, I will ascribe to you. And rightly so. For you, God, are my helper. Not a man as helper, but God as helper, who even deifies him whom he has taken up. My God, who created me. My mercy, who saved me. Considering all the good things that we can possess, whether in nature, or in conversion, in faith, in hope, in charity, in good morals, in righteousness, in the fear of the Lord, that all of it is nothing but from his goods: thus he concluded, My God, my mercy. Filled with good things, he found nothing to call his God, except his mercy. O sweet name, under which no one need despair, consoling all, inviting all to conversion! If indeed he had only forgiven us our sins, he could rightly be called merciful.

Now, since he has both forgiven sins, and moreover added gifts, and (what was incredible) even bestowed heavenly glory on undeserving sinners, he is not only now called merciful, but is worthily called mercy itself. Let the Church, then, say with voice and heart. Let every faithful soul say, My God, my mercy.

And. O God, thou hast rejected. Unto the end, for them who shall be changed, an inscription of a title for David himself, for doctrine, when he burned Mesopotamia of Syria, and Syria Sobal, and turned Joab back, and struck Edom in the Valley of the Salt Pits, twelve thousand. After Saul was dead, when David had obtained the kingdom, he burned Mesopotamia, that is, a part of Syria, and Syria Sobal, another part of Syria, and turned Joab, his enemy, to himself, and struck Edom, that is, the Idumean people, because that people belonged to the land of Idumea, which was so named from its inhabitant Esau, who was called Edom because he loved earthly things. Now by these victories David understood the victories of Christ, which He was to accomplish over the Jews and over the Gentiles. The title is thus: This psalm was held for these, that is, in honor of those, who shall be changed unto the end, that is, unto Christ, or unto perseverance.

It shows the two changes of the just man: one in this life, which is made from sin to righteousness; the second in the other life, which is from mortality to immortality. Which change shall be effected by the inscription of a title received through faith, namely, because they believe Christ to be King of the Jews. I speak of an inscription made for David himself, that is, for Christ, going into doctrine, that is, into his precepts, subjecting oneself to the law of Christ himself, that they may act according to that law. For faith without works is dead.

They shall be changed, I say, when he burned, that is, by this that he burned with the fire of God, Mesopotamia of Syria, that is, the Jews, whom by calling he raised to a lofty dignity, who before were lofty, that is, singularly proud of their knowledge of God; for Mesopotamia is interpreted "lofty calling," and Syria "sublime." And the same Christ burned Syria Sobal, that is, those same Jews, lofty and proud of their vain oldness, that is, of the carnal observances of the law. For Sobal is interpreted "vain oldness." And he turned from idolatry to his faith Joab, that is, the enemy, namely the Gentile people, who had no knowledge of God. And he struck, that is, moved from unbelief to faith, Edom, that is, the Gentile people given to earthly things, or to the blood of sin. For Edom is interpreted "earthly," or "bloody." He struck down the earthliness of the Gentiles, so that they should no longer seek earthly things.

By this he turned Joab, that is, the Gentile people; and he struck them so that they might be in the Valley of the Salt Pits. They were in the valley, that is, in humility, which is the mother of virtues and the seasoning of all things, as salt is of foods. For whoever gathers virtues without humility carries dust in the wind. He struck, I say, twelve thousand, that is, all in the four parts of the world confessing the faith of the holy Trinity. By a thousand, perfection is understood. The subject matter is the Jews themselves who are to be changed, and the Gentiles converted to the faith by the strokes of Christ. The method: In the first part he shows by many arguments and by the authority of God himself that they are to be changed from sin to righteousness. In the second, which begins, "Save me with thy right hand," he shows that through this same change they arrive at another change, namely, from mortality to immortality.

The intention is that no one should despise these strokes, but that they should patiently bear the adversities of this world, because through them they shall have both changes. The voice of those converted to the faith through the victories of Christ. And because they were about to say that they were to be changed, it is shown first from what they are changed, when it is said:

O God, thou hast rejected us, from the joys of paradise, from the contemplation of intimate vision. And thou hast destroyed us. By the corruption of passibility and mortality. Thou hast been angry, on account of our sins: but on account of thy goodness thou hast had mercy on us. Hence it is said elsewhere: When thou art angry, thou wilt remember mercy. A great approach to God is the knowledge of one's own unhappiness. It is very useful for the soul to weigh whence it fell, to see where it lies; to lament its own destruction from the loss of righteousness, and in these things to dread the wrath of the Judge. Whoever does this shall obtain the mercy of the Lord. Thou hast been angry (he says) and hast had mercy on us. As if he should say: For this thou art angry, that thou mayest have mercy; thou art angry in the present, that thou mayest have mercy in the future. Thy very anger is mercy. And he explains how he has had mercy, thus:

Thou hast moved the earth, that is, earthly men, with the plough of preaching: And thou hast troubled it, unto penance. And as thou hast begun, O Lord, so complete it. Heal the breaches thereof, that is, remove from it the miseries which it endures, or the sins for which it has a contrite heart. And it is fitting that thou shouldst heal it, because it has been moved. And it has consented to thy moving grace by free will. By such steps indeed does the sinful soul, God inspiring it, begin to draw near to health. First it is moved by fear of the Lord. Then it is troubled by sorrow for sin. It fears lest it perish, it grieves that it has sinned. Thus placed between fear and sorrow, while conscience accuses and guilt terrifies, it begins to repent, and to bruise and torment the heart with harsh anxiety, and so through contrition it returns to health. It has been preached to us: Do penance, for the kingdom of heaven is at hand.

Behold, whence the earth has been moved and troubled. The sinful soul hears, perhaps it is not moved, it is not worthy to be healed. Another hears, is moved, is stirred, beats its breast, sheds tears. Heal, O Lord, its breaches, because it has been moved. Thus, the earthly thing having been struck, the oldness burned away, man having been changed for the better, now hard and harsh things follow; hence also it is added:

Thou hast shown thy people hard things. Not only by vision, but also by experience, whence it is written: All who wish to live piously in Christ suffer persecution. For through many tribulations we must enter into the kingdom of God. Hence the Lord says to his disciples: In the world you shall have tribulation. Thou hast given us to drink the wine of sorrow. Thou hast made us delight in the cup of passion. For as wine delights when it is drunk, and this very thing which stings is for the delight of the drinker, so the passions and tribulations of this age are for the delight of the servants of God. Hence it is that Paul glories in tribulations. And the Apostles went away rejoicing from the presence of the council, because they were counted worthy to suffer reproach for the name of Jesus. This drink the Lord offered to the sons of Zebedee, when he said: Can you drink the cup which I am about to drink?

Or, thou hast given us to drink the wine of sorrow, that is, the sweetness of tears and penance and confession. The first labor, then, is that man should be displeasing to himself, that he should fight against sins, that he should be changed for the better. The second labor is, on account of the fact that he has been changed, to bear the tribulations and temptations of this age, and to persevere among them even to the end. And it is to be noted that he does not say, "of destruction," but "of sorrow." For this drink of passion is not one that destroys, but a burning medicine. Hence it is further added:

Thou hast given a token to them that fear thee. Indicating and signifying these tribulations, That they may flee from before the bow. That is, from the presence of the future and threatening judgment. Through temporal tribulations (he says) thou hast signified to thy people to flee from the wrath of everlasting fire. Hence let each one consider what remains for sinners afterward, if such strong scourges here chastise even the just. Hence Peter says: It is time that judgment should begin at the house of the Lord; and, If the just man shall scarcely be saved, where shall the wicked man and the sinner appear? How shall he strike those with whom he is angry, if he permits those in whom he rejoices to be so afflicted? Rightly, however, is judgment designated by the bow: because as an arrow is sent forth from a bow, so from judgment a sentence shall be brought forth.

The string is drawn back, when that arrow is to be sent; and the more its extension backward, the greater the force with which it flies forward. Thus, the more judgment is deferred, the greater the force with which it shall come. Therefore for temporal things let us give thanks to the Lord, because he has given to his people a token, that they may flee from before the bow. Why this?

That thy beloved ones may be delivered. For indeed the tokens of present evils are given to this end, that the lovers of the Lord may be delivered from everlasting evils. And that this may come to pass, he entreats suppliantly, saying: Save me with thy right hand. That is, in thy greater goods, in perpetual blessedness. Save me thus, that I may stand at thy right hand. I do not ask for temporal salvation—concerning this, let thy will be done; I ask for eternal things, which thou commandest to be asked. And therefore hear me. Hence he turns to his hearers, to confirm them, saying:

God hath spoken in his holy one. From this I know that his right hand will save: because God the Father has spoken in the holy one, that is, in his Son. Hence Paul says: God was in Christ, reconciling the world to himself. And again, In these last days he has spoken to us in the Son, whom he has appointed heir of all things, in whom he has promised this salvation. Concerning which utterance I, the faithful people, will rejoice, and will divide Sichem, and will measure out the vale of tabernacles. When Jacob was returning from Laban his father-in-law, with all his household, Rachel hid the idols in Sichem, which her father had had in Syria. And Jacob made tabernacles there for his sheep and herds, and called that place Tabernacles. And these, says the Church, I will measure out. What is signified by Sichem, where idols are hidden, but the Gentiles, worshippers of idols? I will divide Sichem, that is, I will divide the nations. For faith is not of all.

Some believe, others do not believe. And even of those who believe, some live well, others ill. Of those also who live well, some shall persevere, others shall fall and perish. Let not those fear, then, who believe, being among those who do not believe, and those who live rightly, being among those who resist by evil ways. They are now divided by faith and morals; they shall be divided in judgment, the sheep to the right, the goats to the left. Now Sichem is interpreted "shoulder." According to the interpretation of the name, shoulders are divided, so that some are weighed down by their sins, while others take up the burden of Christ: as he himself admonishes us, saying: Take my yoke upon you. For my yoke is easy and my burden is light. The vale, he says, of the tabernacles I will measure out. Perhaps, on account of the flocks of Jacob, the vale of tabernacles is understood as the nation of the Jews; and it too is divided.

For those who believed passed through from there; the remnants remained outside. This division is now shown, when it is further added:

Galaad is mine, and Manasses is mine, Ephraim is the strength of my head. Galaad is interpreted "heap of testimony." Such was the name given to the heap of stones which Jacob and Laban made, as a sign of the covenant. By the heap of testimony is designated the multitude of martyrs. For martyrs in Greek are called witnesses in Latin. Galaad is mine, the heap of testimony is mine, the number of martyrs is mine, that is, belongs to my society. Manasses is interpreted "forgetfulness." Whoever forgets his former state, he likewise is mine. Whence it is said elsewhere: Forget thy people, and thy father's house, and so the king shall desire thy beauty, as in Psalm. Ephraim is called "fruitfulness." Those who make good fruits, that is, belong to the strength of Christ. By these are especially understood the doctors of the Church, who make fruits both in themselves and in others. To such the Lord says in the Gospel: I have chosen you, that you should go, and bring forth fruit.

These are the strength of the head, because they sustain the weaker members of Christ.

Judah is my king. Those confessing their sins and ruling themselves spiritually are mine. For Judah is interpreted "confession." Or, Christ, who is to be born from the tribe of Judah, will be my King. Moab is the pot of my hope. Moab is interpreted "from the father": because he came from a father and a daughter. By Moab is understood the people of the Gentiles born of sin, from the daughters of Lot, who lay with their intoxicated father, making evil use of their father. By this are signified those who make evil use of the law. Whence the Apostle says: The law is good, if one uses it lawfully. But those daughters of Lot did not use their father lawfully. Now just as good works are born when someone uses the law well, so evil works are born when someone uses the law wickedly. Accordingly, those women, using their father wickedly—that is, using the law wickedly—begot the Moabites, by whom evil works are signified. Thence comes the tribulation of the Church, thence the boiling pot.

Of this pot it is said elsewhere through the Prophet, A pot on fire from the north. Whence, unless from the side of the devil, who said: I will set my throne in the north? Tribulations therefore chiefly arise against the Church from none but those who make evil use of the law. But just as food is cooked in a pot, so the saints are refined in tribulation. Rightly indeed it is said, The pot of my hope: because the hope of the saints comes from tribulation, as the Apostle testifies, who says: Tribulation works patience, patience proof, proof hope. The pot of iniquity burns, but greater is the flame of charity. Do not fear the Moabites, that is, the evil works of those who make evil use of the law. Judah your king has gone before. Do you not know that the Jews, wickedly using the law, killed your king? Therefore hope, and follow where your king has gone before. Let us hear what great hope the Church has, established in this pot of tribulations.

For it follows: Into Idumea will I stretch out my shoe. Idumea is interpreted "earthly," or "bloody." By the shoe is understood the Gospel. Whence it is written: How beautiful are the feet of those who announce peace, who announce good things! And feet shod in the preparation of the gospel of peace. Let the pot boil as much as it can, let the world rage as much as it is able. I, into Idumea—that is, even unto the earthly and the bloody—will stretch out my shoe, that is, my preaching. Or, the shoe is stretched even unto Idumea, when the humanity of God is preached to the Gentiles. For the divinity was, so to speak, shod in our mortal flesh. To me the strangers are made subject. Even those who do not belong to my race, to my inheritance, are made subject to me. For many come to the faith who do not attain to the inheritance, as it is written: For many are called, but few are chosen.

How many worship Christ who are not to reign with Christ! And lest this should seem to be attributed to his own strength, he commends the grace of God leading him, when he adds:

Who will lead me into the fortified city, that is, the heavenly Jerusalem? Who will lead me even unto Idumea? That is, into Gentility, that many from the Gentiles may be incorporated into me, and the city be enlarged by the fellowship of members. Or, this city is understood to be Judea, which is rightly said to be fortified—namely, by patriarchs and prophets, by laws also and various institutions. To this Christ was first sent. To this the Apostles were first led. To this the Gospel was first preached. Let therefore the primitive Church say, let the apostolic voice say: Who will lead me into the fortified city, that is, into Idumea? Who will lead me even unto Idumea, that is, into all Gentility?

Will not you, O God, who have cast us off? You yourself who cast off will lead. You yourself, who were angered, will have mercy. For you will not withhold your mercies in your anger. And will you not go forth, O God, in our strength? The world is to serve, there is to be a heap of testimony from the shed blood of martyrs, the pagans are to say: Where is their God? And then you will not go forth, O God, in our strength, you will not appear against them. You will not show your power such as you showed in Moses, in Joshua the son of Nun, in David, and in the rest, when the nations yielded to their strength, and after slaughter was made, you led your people into the land which you promised. Surely when the martyrs were led away in chains, when they were slain by the sword, burned by fire, tortured by various torments, they were despised as though forsaken, as though without a helper.

Was it then, because God did not go forth in their strength, that he therefore forsook them? Did he not rather, by not going forth in their strength, lead the Church even unto Idumea? For if the Church had wished to fight, and to use the sword, she would seem to be fighting for the present life. Because therefore she despised the present life, therefore a heap of testimony was made concerning the life to come. You therefore, O God, who will not go forth in our strength—because you will not give temporal help—give everlasting help. And this is what he adds:

Give us everlasting help from tribulation, that is, on account of the tribulation which we endure here. And therefore we do not ask for this human salvation, because it is vain and transitory. Whence he immediately adds: And vain is the salvation of man. Hence Solomon says: Vanity of vanities, and all is vanity. And again he said: I saw all things that are done under the sun, and behold, all is vanity and affliction of spirit. Rightly then the Church adds:

In God we shall work valor. Not in the sword, not in horses, not in breastplates, not in the might of an army: And he himself will bring to nothing those that trouble us. This came to pass: the martyrs were trodden down by suffering, by persevering, they worked valor in God. And he himself did what follows. He brought to nothing those that troubled us. Where are the persecutors? Where are those who raged, who dragged away, who slew? Who even remembers them? The savagery of the persecutors has been reduced to nothing; the virtue and glory of the saints flourishes. Let us also work valor in the Lord, that we may deserve to be free from every tribulation and temptation. For if God is for us, who is against us? Let our strength therefore be in God, and no adversities will prevail to harm us.

Hear, O God, my supplication: attend to my prayer. God attends to our prayer when he graciously receives what we pray. He sometimes hears certain persons in anger, not so much unto salvation as unto damnation. And therefore, after saying, Hear, he immediately added, Attend: that he might deign to hear graciously and profitably. It can also be distinguished thus: Hear my supplication, in the avoiding of evils: Attend to my prayer, in the seeking of good things. For some make this distinction between supplication and prayer, that this be to supplicate God, when we seek that he turn evils away from us. And this be to pray, when we ask that he grant good things. And because the Church is spread throughout the whole world, she implies that she cries out from every quarter, when she adds:

From the ends of the earth I have cried to you. Our cry to God is our desire. The more one desires, the more one cries. And he adds the reason why: While my heart was in anguish. He shows himself to be, throughout all nations, in great glory, yet not without great temptation. For all who wish to live piously in Christ suffer persecution. Now our advancement comes about through temptation, nor does anyone become known to himself unless he is tempted; nor can he be crowned unless he has conquered; nor can he conquer unless he has striven; nor can he strive unless he has had an enemy and temptation. This one, then, cries out in anguish from the ends of the earth, but he is not abandoned: for it is added: On the rock you have exalted me. Now the rock was Christ. Hence Truth itself says: Upon this rock I will build my Church. He is exalted on the rock who is founded in the faith of our Lord Jesus Christ.

And well does he say, You have exalted: because the just man who lives by faith transcends all temporal things, and his citizenship is in the heavens. And because he who grants faith advances his own to action and hope, and confirms them in it, lest any who is tempted should fail, it is rightly added: You have led me, from strength to strength, from good to better:

Because you have become my hope, a tower of strength from the face of the enemy. He, if he had not become our hope, would not lead us. He leads as a guide, and leads us into himself as a way, and brings us through to himself as our homeland. Whence is our hope? Because he suffered, because he rose again. For what do we say, when we read these things? God does not abandon us, for whom he sent his own Son to be tempted, crucified, to die, to rise again. God does not despise us, for whom he did not spare even his own Son, but delivered him up for us. Thus therefore has he become our hope. In him you see your labor and your reward. Labor in the passion, reward in the resurrection. We have two lives, one in which we are, the other which we hope for. The one in which we are is known to us. The one which we hope for is unknown to us.

Endure the one you are in, and you will have the one you do not yet have. How do you endure? Do not be overcome by the tempter in any labors. By his temptations, by his death, he has shown you the life you are in; by his resurrection he has shown you the life you shall be in. Therefore he has become your guide. Your very creator suffered, that you should not fear to suffer. He died, that you should not fear to die. He rose again in your flesh, that you too might hope to rise. For we are saved by hope. He himself also, who is our hope, has become for us a tower of strength from the face—that is, from the presence—of the enemy. Such a fortification is God to us, in which we can both be secure from the enemy, and hurl weapons at the enemy himself. Before you is Christ. Remember Christ, and enter into the tower.

Whatever you suffer, consider that he suffered it first: and consider to what end he suffered, namely that he might die and rise again. Hope for such an end as went before in him: and you have entered into the tower, by not consenting to the enemy. For if you consent to the enemy, the weapon of the assailant reaches you. Rather hurl weapons at him, by which he may be struck and conquered. What are these weapons? The words of God, your faith, your hope, your good works. Now I say this: be in that tower so as to be at leisure there, and let it suffice for you, that the enemy's weapons do not reach you. Do something there; let your hands not be idle. Your good works are swords slaying the enemy. Strengthened therefore by such a fortification, he promises to persevere, when he adds:

I will dwell in your tabernacle forever. Because here the Church will be, until the end of the age, doing battle for God, I will remain in concord, I will fight in the unity of faith even to the end. For it is not he who has begun, but he who has persevered even to the end, that shall be saved. But whence will you persevere? What are your strengths amid so many scandals, amid so many battles? It follows and says: I will be protected under the covering of your wings, that is, in the protection of your virtues. Whence to the blessed Virgin it is said by the Angel: The Holy Spirit will come upon you, and the power of the Most High will overshadow you. Behold why we are secure amid so many temptations, until the end of the age comes, and the everlasting ages receive us: because we are protected under the covering of his wings. Great is the heat of vices, but great is the shade beneath the wings of God.

And therefore I am certain of protection,

For thou, O God, hast heard my prayer, concerning the goods to be received. Thou hast given an inheritance to them that fear thy name. But benefits conferred are a proof of things to come. We are admonished here not to cease from praying, as long as it is the time of temptations. Pray (saith the Lord) that ye enter not into temptation. Frequent prayer removes the darts of the devil. This is the first virtue against the assaults of temptations. Nothing more useful can a servant of God do in this world than to pray to God. Prayer makes serene the heart, draws it away from earthly things, cleanses it from vices, lifts it up to heavenly things, renders it more capable and more worthy to receive spiritual goods. Let us persevere therefore in prayer and in the fear of the name of God, so that we may be able to merit the heavenly inheritance. Then he explains what inheritance God is about to give, saying:

Thou wilt add days upon the days of the king: his years unto the day of generation and generation. Thou wilt add eternal days upon the temporal days of our king Christ, so that not only in these passing days may Christ reign in his Church, but that the saints may reign with him in those days which have no end. The eternity of God is called both days and years: improperly, however. Whence in another psalm it is said: And thy years shall not fail. As with years, so with days, so with one day. Whatever you wish to say, you say less of eternity. But it is necessary to say something, so that there may be something from which to think of that which cannot be said. And because he might have added two, or three days, or years: he says, Thou wilt add, even unto the day of the present generation, and of the generation to come, or of the carnal generation, and the spiritual: the temporal, and the eternal.

And the king himself, with his generation, Abideth for ever before the sight of God. And this is the reward of the saints, the glory of the vision of God. Whence the Apostle says: We shall be like to him, because we shall see him as he is. And because so great is the recompense of God, and so great is the blessedness: Who shall require his mercy and truth? It is called mercy, because God does not regard our merits, but his own goodness: that he might forgive our sins, and promise eternal life. But it is called truth, because he does not fail to render what he has promised. Let us here also acknowledge it, and let us do so that as he has shown mercy to us, by forgiving sins: and truth, by giving what was promised: so let us also show mercy here toward the needy, toward the weak, even toward our enemies: but truth by not sinning, nor adding sin upon sin.

Therefore he says under the form of a question, as though inviting, Who shall require? Because although this good is ineffable, yet there are few who require it, or who persevere in requiring it. So great is human misery, so much has iniquity abounded, that many are found seeking vanity and falsehood, but few are found requiring truth. Let us, however, strive to be among these few, that we may be able to say with the elect what follows:

So will I sing a psalm to thy name for ever and ever: that I may pay my vows from day to day. Being placed under this hope, because I hope that thou wilt give me an inheritance in the future, and wilt abide for ever in thy sight. So will I sing a psalm to thy name, that is, so will I do well unto the honor of thy name, tending toward the age that follows this age, that I may pay my vows, that is, myself, whom I have vowed, from day to day, that is, continually: or from day to day, that is, from virtue to virtue. Or thus: So will I sing a psalm, that I may pay my vows, that is, so will I sing with my voice, that the voice of the mouth may agree with the devotion of the mind. For the voice of those who sing psalms to God ought to agree with the heart, that that saying of the Apostle may be fulfilled: I will sing with the mind also.

For the praise of those does not please God, of whom it is said: This people honoreth me with their lips, but their heart is far from me. Then, however, is our psalmody acceptable to God, when we so sing with the mouth that we are kindled with the heart: when in the praise of God tongue, life, and conscience come together at once. Let us strive to render such praise, such vows, to the Lord God for ever and ever, from day to day.

Unto the end, for Idithun (1 Chron. 25), a psalm of David. The psalm suits David, and the other just men, considered as for Idithun, that is, for those who pass over: directing unto the end, that is, unto Christ. The subject matter concerns those who leap over, such as cannot be hindered by any tribulation or persuasion, because, having let go of earthly things, they tend only toward heavenly things. In the first part he shows that he cannot be hindered from completing his leap: rebuking the wicked who wish to hinder him, whether by persuasions or by tribulations. In the second (which begins: Nevertheless to God) he admonishes himself and others, that they be subject to God. In the third (which begins: Nevertheless vain) he rebukes the wicked for their wickedness, and says that trust is not to be placed in earthly things. The intention is to admonish us, that we be hindered by no tribulation from passing over from earthly things to heavenly things.

Whence now, in the voice of any perfect man, against the envious, it is said:

Shall not my soul be subject to God? For he knew that he who exalts himself shall be humbled: and, fearing lest by leaping over he should become proud, not elated by the things beneath him, but humble before God, who was above him, as though the envious were threatening him with ruin, who grieved that he had leaped over, he answered: Shall not my soul be subject to God, that is, obedient and observing his commands? My soul, I say, that is, of my own power: for though the body be in your power, yet the soul shall never be but mine. However far I may advance, however far I may ascend, however far I may leap over, I shall be under God, not against God. I shall be secure in surpassing the rest, since he holds me under himself, who is above all things. And it is just that I should be subject to him, For from him, that is, from God the Father, is my salvation, that is, my saving. And this is proved:

For he also is my God, who created me, and my Savior, who saved me. My protector, who received me from death unto life, from punishment unto glory. And therefore, I shall be moved no more. Though at one time I was moved, now I am received, and healed by my author and Redeemer. Now, further, I shall be moved no more. And it should be noted, that there is a difference between "the Savior" and "salvation." For by the name "the Savior" Christ is understood. But "salvation," because through him salvation is understood to have been wrought. And since indeed I have such a Savior, by whom I shall no longer be moved: therefore, O foolish ones,

How long do you rush in, that is, how long do you make an assault irrationally, Upon a man? The outward man. Because although you may afflict the body, you cannot reach unto the soul. To us indeed there is no loss. But do you consider your own destruction in what you do. Because You all kill yourselves. Whoever you are that strive to remove the good from their purpose, whether by persuasion or by persecution, you kill yourselves inwardly in this. You condemn your own souls: you rush upon us as upon a leaning wall. That is, as a leaning wall is prone to fall, so you reckon us easy to fall, as though we were deprived of all help. And a tottering fence? That is, as a fence without mortar is fragile, and if it be pushed, easily falls: so you think us to be without cohesion, and prone to ruin: but it is not so.

Nevertheless the wicked do not cease for this, but They have thought to cast down my price from me. That is, to take from me my God and the glory which I hope will come, and the reward of my labor. Therefore I ran in thirst. Not like one slothful and disgusted, but as one thirsting, and desiring to die for justice. For I was eager for the passion. Blessed are they that hunger and thirst after justice, for they shall be filled. Amid this running and thirst, They blessed with their mouth. That they might deceive me with words of flattery. But cursed with their heart. Devising iniquity and death. This the wicked and deceitful do, when they dare not openly persecute the good. With a deceitful mouth they speak good, but within, in the heart, poison lies hidden. But though they do this, though they think this, though they press on, lie in wait, persecute, slander: I nevertheless shall remain fixed in God. Therefore, exhorting his own soul amid so many dangers, he adds:

Nevertheless, be thou subject to God, O my soul. As you began, recognize that you have received from him the good things that you have. Humble yourself before him as much as you can. And indeed you will do so: For from him is my patience. Or because Christ himself became an example of patience, as the Apostle says: Christ suffered for us, leaving you an example, that you should follow his steps. Or because he himself makes one strong and patient in tribulations. For no one could endure such great, whether open wars or hidden ambushes among open enemies and false brethren, unless almighty God granted the strength to endure. Again he gives another reason why the soul ought to be subject to God, saying: For he is my God, who calls me. And my savior, who has redeemed me. My helper. For doing good: and therefore, I shall not depart. This verse he has already set forth above.

But because there he admonished his hearers with it, now he repeats the same for the exhortation of his own self. It is, however, a useful counsel, in all things to remember our God as savior and helper: so that by no temptations may we be able to depart from him. Whence he still adds:

In God is my salvation. That is, through God I have salvation. For the whole salvation of the just is to be referred to him who justifies the ungodly. And my glory: so that (according to the Apostle) he who glories, may glory in the Lord. Or because through him the glory of eternal life is granted, meanwhile now amid temptations and scandals, amid open assaults and crafty speeches, God is the God of my help. For he gives help to those who strive. And my hope is in God. Hope is so long as that is not yet which was promised, and one believes what is not seen. But when it shall have come, it will be salvation and glorification. Yet while these things are deferred, we are not forsaken. For God is the God of my help, and my hope is in God. Now he exhorts the rest by his own example, as one running in thirst, desiring that all be saved.

For it is right, that those who by living well run toward God, should hasten to draw with them to him whomever they can. He says therefore:

Trust in him, all ye congregation of the people, All you who are gathered together in the unity of the faith. And that you may be able worthily to hope in him, Pour out your hearts before him. That is, empty them from all filth, that they may be before him, that is, in his good pleasure: for whoever does not have a heart empty of evil, if he hopes, it is not hope, but presumption. Do not, therefore, keep your hearts within your hearts, pour them out before him by lamenting, confessing, entreating. For God is our helper for ever. God is not such a helper as man is. For men help for a time. God helps also unto the granting of eternity. God (I say) is our helper for ever.

But vain are the sons of men. These things they do not heed, but are vain, that is, given over to vanities. He calls "sons of men" the imitators of those living carnally. They are also lying sons of men in the balances, that is, in the scale of justice, in the deliberation of good and evil, while they weigh evil heavier than good. This is said from a likeness of those who, in balances in which justice seems to be present, deceive buyers. Whence he also adds: that they themselves may deceive out of vanity unto the same end: this that he says, "unto the same end," signifies, that although there are diverse frauds, diverse errors, diverse doctrines, all tend to one vanity, to one kingdom of destruction and perdition. From this sort of vanity, therefore, he strives to dissuade them, when he adds:

Hope not in iniquity. And he pursues this iniquity part by part, when it is added: And covet not rapine. This was said to the poor, who would perhaps seize something out of necessity. Let the rich also hear: If riches abound, if they overflow, running as it were from a fountain, Set not your heart upon them. Do not trust in riches. Do not presume; do not hope. Let it not be said: Behold the man who made not God his helper, but trusted in the abundance of his riches, and prevailed in his vanity. But blessed is he whose hope is the Lord God, and who hath not had regard to vanities and lying follies. Behold, that man has not, this man has. Let him who has not seek not to seize what he does not have. Let this man not set his heart upon what he has: let him not fix it there, but rather fear. Charge the rich of this world not to be highminded, nor to trust in the uncertainty of riches.

Therefore covet neither fraud nor rapine. Do not place your hope in the things you possess. And in order the more to dissuade them from vanity, he sets forth two things, of which one deters and the other soothes, saying:

God hath spoken once, these two things have I heard, that power belongeth to God, and to thee, O Lord, mercy: for thou wilt render to every man according to his works. If you despise the voice of man, take heed that God himself has spoken; and this once, that is, unchangeably: or once, that is, in his one Word. For God the Father has one Word, the only-begotten God. In him are all things: for all things were made through the Word. There all the treasures of wisdom and knowledge are hidden. He has one Word: God hath spoken once. These two things which I am about to tell you, I have heard there. I do not speak from myself. Perhaps he heard many other things, but it was not needful for them to be told to us. For the Lord himself says: I have many things to say to you, but you cannot bear them now.

Passing over the whole of creation, he comes to the only-begotten Word of God, by whose revelation he heard these two things very necessary for us: that power belongeth to God. For all power is from God; and to thee, O Lord, mercy. In these two things almost all the Scriptures are contained. On account of these two, the Patriarchs, the Prophets, the Law, our Lord Jesus Christ, the Apostles. On account of these, every annunciation and celebration of the word in the Church. Fear his power: love his mercy. Do not so presume upon his mercy that you despise his power. Nor so fear his power that you despair of his mercy. It belongs to his power to punish the wicked for their evil deeds. It belongs to his mercy to reward the just for their good deeds. Therefore he says, For thou wilt render to every man according to his works: to the good, namely, good things, and to the evil, evil things.

Therefore, before this comes to pass, let us strive to turn away from evil and do good. Let us strive to pass over from this world to God, from vice to virtue. This is the fruit of this psalm, and the intention of him who passes over.

O God, my God, to thee do I watch at break of day. O God by the creation of all things, my God according to a special and singular love, I watch, that is, I am diligently zealous and eager to please thee and to carry out thy will. And this at break of day, that is, through the purity of a good conscience. Of this watching it is said in the Gospel: Blessed is that servant whom, when his Lord shall come, he shall find watching. He calls a pure conscience light. So, on the other hand, we call an evil conscience darkness, according to the Apostle: You were sometimes darkness, but now light in the Lord. Or, I watch for thee at break of day, that is, from the time I had knowledge of thee, which is the cause of my watching. Sleep of the soul is to forget God. Paul rouses such a one, saying: Rise, thou that sleepest, and arise from the dead, and Christ shall enlighten thee. Christ enlightens souls, and makes them watch.

Therefore our life and our conduct ought through Christ to watch unto God. But he shows the cause of this watching when he adds: My soul hath thirsted after thee; how many ways doth also my flesh long for thee! Whoever wishes something to be bestowed on him in ardor of desire—this very desire is the soul’s thirst. Now there are various desires in the hearts of men. One thirsts for gold, another for silver, another for possessions, another for inheritance, one for this, another for that. Scarcely is one found who thirsts for God. But the soul that is holy rejects all things of this world as bitter, and burns with all its desires toward that ineffable sweetness which is in God. It desires to be inebriated with the abundance of the house of God, where is the fountain of life and the source of wisdom. And my flesh, he says, hath thirsted for thee, that is, that it may appear before thee in that resurrection and immortality which thou hast promised.

And this, how many ways, that is, for many more reasons than the soul—for it is subject to greater miseries. For the spirit indeed is willing, but the flesh weak. And although the soul feels many temptations, many disturbances, yet it does not fail so much as the flesh. For now, from the corruption of the flesh, if we do not eat, we fail and hunger. If we do not drink, we fail and thirst. If we eat and drink too long, that very prolonged refreshment is itself a failing. If we sleep too long, we fail, and therefore we keep watch. If we keep watch too long, we fail, and therefore we sleep. If we stand too long, we grow weary, and therefore we sit. If we sit too long, we grow weary there too, and therefore we rise. There is, then, no fixed state of our flesh. Now it passes from infancy to childhood, from childhood to adolescence, from adolescence to youth, from youth to old age, from old age to decrepitude, from decrepitude to death.

Our age does not stand still: everywhere weariness, everywhere corruption. Therefore, in as many ways as the flesh grows weary, in so many ways does it thirst from God for untiring incorruption. Where does it thirst?

In a desert land, and where there is no way, and no water. That is, in this world, which is as it were of itself a desert land, having, as far as it is concerned, no way of truth from any good, nor the refreshment of true salvation. But the Lord has had mercy on us in this desert. Truth is sprung out of the earth, and our earth has yielded her fruit. Our Lord Jesus Christ has become a way. He has given us water in the desert, filling his preachers with the Holy Spirit, so that in them there might be a fountain of water springing up into everlasting life. These things we have here. But they are not of the desert.

Therefore the psalm first commended the character of the desert, so that when you heard in what evil you were, if you were able to have here any consolations, whether of fruits, or of ways, or of water, you would attribute them not to the desert, but to him who deigned to visit you in the desert. Unless one first thirsts in the evil in which he is, he never arrives at the good, which is God. So have I appeared to thee in the sanctuary, that is, I have prepared myself such as thou shouldst regard: namely, through this, that they are in holy desire, or purpose: that I might see thy power and thy glory. That is, that I might understand thy Son, in whom is the power of omnipotence (since all things were made through him) and the glory of divinity. This power and glory those who have a sanctified heart now see through faith; afterward they shall see it through sight. He gives yet another reason why he watched and thirsted, saying:

For thy mercy is better than lives. Many are the lives of men, but God promises one life. And he does not give it to us for our merits, but for his mercy. One chooses for himself the life of trading, another of money-lending, another of farming, another of soldiering, one this, another that. Diverse are the lives, but thy mercy is better than our lives. Better is what thou givest to the corrected than what the perverse love. Thou grantest one life, which is to be preferred to all our lives, whatever we might be able to choose in the world. Or otherwise: Many are the lives of the saints in this world. One serves God in marriage, another through continence, another through common life, another through the solitary life, another through the active life, another through the contemplative, in different ways according to the measure of grace which is given to each by God.

However perfectly anyone may live, however holily and purely he may serve God, yet he is not brought to the heavenly kingdom unless divine mercy be joined with good works. Rightly, then, let it be said: For thy mercy is better than lives; therefore My lips shall praise thee, that is, I will proclaim thee praiseworthy to others. Lest we be ungrateful for so great a mercy of the merciful Lord, we ought to render such praises and thanks as we are able. Whence he further adds:

Thus will I bless thee in my life: and in thy name I will lift up my hands. What does "thus" mean? That I ascribe my life, in which I praise thee, to thy mercy, not to my own merits. Or, my lips shall praise thee thus, that I may also bless thee in my life, that is, throughout my whole life. For thus does anyone worthily praise God, when life agrees with the lips. Now to lift up the hands is, with regard to the heavenly homeland, to perform good works. In thy name (he says), that is, to the honor and glory of thy name. According to what is said elsewhere: Not to us, O Lord, not to us, but to thy name give glory. And that he may be able to praise worthily with his lips, and to bless God by living rightly and working well, he asks to be enriched with the gift of his grace, when he adds:

Let my soul be filled as with marrow and fatness: and my mouth shall praise thee with joyful lips. Fat, properly, is called that richness which is interiorly around the vital organs. It signifies the charity of God poured out in our hearts through the Holy Spirit, who is given to us. The fatness which is in the outer members designates the eagerness of the soul itself, which makes the body work well with alacrity. For a lean soul does not please God, just as it was said that a lean victim was not pleasing in the old sacrifice. This, however, was set down so that we might understand it as spoken figuratively—namely, that he asks not for carnal fatness, but for spiritual; not that which is in the flesh, but that which is in the soul. So the soul is filled as with marrow and fatness, when charity is both in the mind and in outward affection, and spiritual cheerfulness appears in action. For God loveth a cheerful giver.

Whence he also declares that he praises God with joyful lips, because in the service of the Lord, and in his praise, there ought to be not sadness but joy. Hence the Holy Spirit elsewhere admonishes us in the psalm: Serve ye the Lord with gladness. Nor should the praise of God be only in the mouth, but also in meditation and in deed; whence it is further added:

If I have remembered thee upon my bed, I will meditate on thee in the morning. He calls his bed rest. Often, when men are at rest, they become dissolute through rest and forget God. This holy soul, in its rest, remembers God. Whence it is clear that in its actions also it will meditate on God. If I have remembered thee upon my bed, that is, when I was at rest, I will meditate on thee, that is, in the works of light. For we ought to work worthy things, as it were in the light: for we are not of the night, nor of darkness, but children of God and of light. Whence the Apostle admonishes us to walk honestly in the day. And the Lord in the Gospel says: Let your light shine before men, that they, seeing your good works, may glorify your Father who is in heaven. He commends the grace of God, when he adds:

For thou hast been my helper. For unless the Lord helps our good works, they cannot be fulfilled by us. Behold, now the Church shows herself to be secure in the desert, through the help of God's grace. Hence exulting she says: And under the covering of thy wings I will rejoice. I grow glad in good works: because thy wing-covering is above me, that is, the refreshment and protection of the virtues. Nor shall I only rejoice, but now with affection and desire.

My soul hath cleaved after thee. Not as though it went before, like Peter, when he said to the Lord: Be it far from thee. Let this not be. Therefore, being rebuffed, he heard: Go behind me, Satan. For thou savourest not the things that are of God, but the things that are of men. But it cleaved so as to be after thee, that is, to follow thee assiduously, and obey thee. And because it cleaved thus, Thy right hand hath received me, that is, thy virtue and grace has raised me to great dignity from the fall in which I was because of sin: or thy grace received me to be placed at thy right hand. Or this can be taken specifically of our Head, who after the resurrection and ascension was placed at the right hand of the Father. In whose person it is further subjoined:

But they in vain have sought my soul. The Jews sought to destroy the soul of Christ, but in vain: because they could not accomplish what they wished. Hence this punishment which is to come upon them is foretold, which is added below: They shall go into the lower parts of the earth: they shall be delivered into the hands of the sword: they shall be the portions of foxes. For they were led into captivity even to the lower parts of the earth, they were overcome by enemies, and delivered into the power of warriors: that is, divided into parts by kings and secular princes, who because of their cunning and craftiness are called foxes. Hence it is that the Lord himself calls King Herod a fox. Go, he says, tell that fox. But with these thus scattered, let us hear what he adds concerning our king:

But the king shall rejoice in God. He who from salvation is to be called king, who is King of kings and Lord of lords, who rules us according to good morals and virtues, whose kingdom shall have no end. Such a king shall rejoice, in that unchangeableness which is in God, namely in the divinity of the Father. All they also shall be praised that swear by him, that is, all who promise the faith of God and keep it shall appear praiseworthy through him: because they vow their souls to him, and render them. Great indeed shall be the praise of the saints, when they shall hear from the Lord himself in judgment: I was hungry, and you gave me to eat. I was thirsty, and you gave me to drink, and other such things. And again: Come, ye blessed of my Father, receive the kingdom prepared for you from the foundation of the world.

The king, therefore, being established with his soldiers in great joy, the opposing party shall be confounded, of which it is also added: Because the mouth is stopped of them that speak wicked things. How many wicked things did the Jews speak! How many evils did the pagans say, who persecuted Christians on account of idols! When they think that Christians can be finished off, they themselves increased, and were finished off instead. Their mouth is stopped. Now they do not dare to speak against Christ. This, however, shall be more perfectly fulfilled at the judgment, when they shall see our king reigning. And they will not be able to deny God, when they behold the saints standing in great constancy against those who afflicted them: when they shall see those whom once they held in derision reckoned among the sons of God. Then indeed shall the mouth of the wicked be stopped, when it no longer has anything it can say.

Let us then be zealous to watch for God from the light, and in this dry desert to thirst for the fountain of life. Let our heart be in holy desire. Let our lips, our life, our works praise and bless God. Let there be the fatness of charity in the heart, gladness in action. Let us be mindful of God in the evening and in the morning. Let our joy be in him. Let our soul cleave to him with all desire: let us beware the example of the wicked, who perish: so that we may be able to rejoice and reign with our king Jesus Christ in the heavenly kingdom. This is the profit of the psalm.

The title of the following psalm is: Unto the end, a psalm of David. This psalm belongs to David, that is, to Christ, who speaks here, directing unto the end. Christ is the subject-matter, having suffered and been glorified. For he touches briefly on his passion and glorification. In the first part he describes the malice of the Jews, and prays to be delivered from them. And he affirms that he shall be delivered. In the second part (which begins, The arrows of little ones) he sets forth the mocking of their folly. He shows in this psalm his constancy in the passion: instructing us, namely, by his own example, how we ought to conduct ourselves among enemies, and how, praying, we ought to persevere in tribulations: taking note of this, namely, that the harsher and more unjust our tribulation shall have been, the greater profit we shall have in the future, while they shall have the greater loss.

Now Christ prays here that he might yield to enemies in the passion, although he most certainly knew he would never fail: but he does this for the instruction of the faithful, so that if he himself, who had foreknowledge of the future, was willing to pray, much more should those who are uncertain diligently give themselves to prayer. Thus, then, it begins:

Hear, O God, my prayer, when I make supplication. Now do I supplicate thee, Father. Now hear my prayer. But that Christ asks to be heard is to be understood not according to divinity, but according to humanity. For in that part in which he was man he was weak and mortal and capable of suffering. In this part, therefore, he sought mercy, in which he stood in need of mercy. What this prayer is, is declared in what follows. For he says: Deliver my soul from the fear of the enemy. This the servant prays in the psalm, which the Lord commands in the Gospel: Fear not, he says, them that kill the body, but are not able to kill the soul. Let it be prayed, then, that he grant what he commands. Nor does he pray that he not be killed, but that he not fear the one killing, lest perhaps by fearing he succumb.

Nor does the Lord Christ ask this so that he might be broken by any fear, but so that he might give to the weak members a form of praying, and constancy in the passion. And that he is secure of being heard, he shows by the following words. For he says:

Thou hast protected me from the assembly of the malignant, that is, from the gathering of those thinking evil of me, and also from the multitude of the workers of iniquity, that is, from the many who wrought against me that singular iniquity, namely the crucifixion. For he was protected, God protecting himself, the Son himself protecting his own flesh. For what could the enemies do? They killed the body, but they could not kill the soul. It was a small thing for the Lord to exhort his martyrs by word, unless he confirmed it by example. Hear, he says, and it is necessary that thou hear. Why?

For they have whetted their tongues like a sword; they have bent their bow, a bitter thing, that they may shoot in secret the undefiled one. As a sword is whetted, that it may cut more, so they most sharply devised what worse thing they could say against him. This was the sharpness of the Jews. This they sought as a great thing, that if they killed, they should not appear to be the killers. Therefore they bent the bow, that is, they prepared snares. They fought at once both with sword and bow. With the sword of the tongue, with the bow of deception. With the sword one fights hand to hand. He who shoots an arrow deceives, that he may strike. And well does he call this bow, this fraud, a bitter thing. For what is so bitter as to kill Christ? To this end they aimed, that they might shoot the undefiled one, that is, kill the innocent one. And this in secret, that is, stealthily.

To this end they sought how he might be betrayed by a disciple, condemned by a Roman judge, crucified by the Romans themselves. This was the sharpness of the tongue, this the bow, this the arrows. Thus through others they shot Christ. Thus with the sword of their own tongue they killed him. Whence it is also added:

They will shoot at him suddenly, and will not fear: they are resolved to speak a wicked thing. He says suddenly, as if unforeseen. Now three things are set forth from this verse concerning the perversity of the Jews. First, the cruelty of the deed, where he says, They will shoot at him. Second, the perversity of mind, where he says: And will not fear. Third, the obstinacy of insane speech, where he adds: They are resolved to speak a wicked thing. These words insinuate to us that in all things, that is, in word, deed, and thought, they were corrupt. O hard and impenitent heart! He was handed over to the judge. The judge trembles, and those who handed him over to the judge do not tremble. Power quakes, and savagery does not quake. He wishes to wash his hands, and they defile their tongues. But why? They are resolved to speak a wicked thing, Crucify, crucify. Wicked indeed truly: than which nothing more wicked can be. The repetition is the confirmation of the malicious speech.

But they resolved this, not for the Lord, but for themselves, that is, unto their own damnation. For how is it not for themselves, when they say: His blood be upon us, and upon our children? And because he who sins in secret desires to sin not in public, it is rightly added:

They have talked in order to hide snares, that is, how secretly they might capture and kill Christ, by delivering him through a disciple, judging him through the Roman ruler, killing him through his soldiers. Such was the hiding of the snares, of which also, They said: Who shall see them? For they did not think this could be detected by anyone, but it did not profit them. For it follows:

They have searched after iniquities: with which they might be able to convict Christ in his words, or because they set up false witnesses against him. But they have failed in their search, searching diligently, that is, in that subtle and frequent inquiry they could accomplish nothing. Which is shown plainly, when it is further added:

Man shall come to a deep heart: and God shall be exalted. To a deep heart, that is, to a secret heart, to a divine heart, not showing what he knew, not showing what he was. They, thinking that all was as it appeared, kill the man in his deep heart. God shall be exalted, in the divine heart. Whence he is humbled, thence he is the more exalted. For Christ died, rose from the dead, ascended into heaven, sent his preachers into the world. God was believed in. He was magnified and exalted—not that as regards himself he could ever be exalted—but as regards him with whom a greater knowledge of God is had. Hear how God was exalted, and those who persecuted him humbled.

The arrows of little ones are made their wounds: their tongues against them are made weak. All that saw them were troubled. And every man was afraid. Those who shot arrows, and did not fear, are now struck with the arrows of little ones, and being troubled, they are afraid. And those who resolved to speak a wicked thing, now their tongues against them are made weak. The threats have ceased, and the blasphemies. They recognized that their searches availed nothing, and after so much noise of words they fell silent. Such is the change of the right hand of the Most High. For not by the mighty arms of strong warriors, but by the humble arrows of simple children, did Almighty God overthrow such great and fierce enemies. For God chose the weak things of the world, that he might confound the strong. For who are these little ones, but those to whom it is said in the Gospel: Unless you be converted, and become as this little child, you shall not enter into the kingdom of heaven?

All, therefore, were troubled unto repentance, that is, men of every kind. And every man was afraid, that is, everyone using reason, to understand what had been done. The fear of the Lord subdued itself: They declared the works of God. Namely his nativity, passion, resurrection, humanity, and divinity, and his virtues and miracles. And they understood his doings. Namely, that our redemption and salvation had been accomplished through God. And therefore it follows:

The just man shall rejoice, not in himself, not in the world, but in the Lord, and shall hope in him, for eternal life. And all the upright of heart shall be praised. That is, all who believe rightly and live well shall appear praiseworthy. Those are upright of heart who, having abandoned their own will, wholly subject themselves to the divine will. Let us therefore pray to God, that he give us constancy, that we may not fear the assembly of the malignant, nor the swords of tongues, nor the bows of deceptions. Let us approach God with a humble heart, and therefore a lofty one, that in him we may deserve to be exalted. Let us fear him with chaste fear, let us announce his works, so that, justified through him, we may always be able to rejoice in him. This is the usefulness of the psalm.

The title of the following psalm is this: Unto the end, a psalm of David, a Canticle of Jeremiah and Haggai concerning the word of the sojourning, when they began to set out (. And 2.). The people of Israel was taken captive: from the city of Jerusalem it was led into the servitude of Babylon. But the holy Jeremiah prophesied that after seventy years the people would return from captivity, and would restore that same city of Jerusalem, which, conquered by enemies, he had lamented. But Haggai did not prophesy the captivity, but succeeded Jeremiah, who had died while the Jews were in captivity. And Haggai himself prophesied the return, and was present at the return: for when Nebuchadnezzar died, another king succeeded, who, fearing God, dismissed the people of God. But since (as the Apostle says) these things happened to them in figure, but were written for our sake, upon whom the end of the ages has come: we too ought first to know our captivity, then our liberation.

We ought to know Babylon, in which we are captives, and Jerusalem, for whose return we sigh. Two loves make these two cities. Love of God makes Jerusalem; love of the world makes Babylon. Let each one, therefore, ask what he loves, and he will find of which he is a citizen. If he finds himself a citizen of Babylon, let him root out cupidity, let him plant charity. If he finds himself a citizen of Jerusalem, let him endure captivity, let him hope for freedom. Some, in place of Haggai in the title, put Ezekiel, who was in the captivity of Babylon. And where here it says concerning the word of the sojourning, some say, "from the people of the transmigration." Though the words differ here, the meaning does not disagree. But now let us look at the exposition of the title. This psalm suits David the prophet and others returning. It is a psalm which is the canticle of Jeremiah and Haggai.

Because it explains to us that in which Jeremiah and Haggai exulted, or Zechariah, or Ezekiel, who were of the people of the transmigration. A canticle, I say, held concerning the word of the sojourning, that is, concerning the revelation which was made to them by God for the sojourning of the captives, when they began to set out, that is, to return from Babylon to Jerusalem. Their exultation prefigured ours, which we have when we begin to set out spiritually from this sojourning. And not attending to this Babylon, we intend to love God. For the conception of love is the beginning of setting out. He begins to depart who begins to love. The feet of those departing are the affections of the heart. Even if in body they are still mingled with the sons of Babylon, yet by holy desire they are distinguished. The subject matter is these very ones returning, who speak here. In the first part they proclaim God worthy of praise.

They pray that they may return from captivity; they announce their misery; they tell that God is propitious, and blessed is he whom he has chosen. They commend his house and dwelling and goods. In the second part (where it says: The hope of all the ends of the earth) is treated the power of the Savior, the virtue and grace of the preachers, the fear and change of the converted, the gift of the Holy Spirit, the multiplication of the faithful, their fruit. In the third part (where it says: Thou shalt bless the crown of the year) is commended the blessing and beatitude which God is going to give through his grace to his saints, each according to his merits, in the future. For all these things, at the end, as at the beginning, he declares that a hymn is to be sung to God. The voice of the Church to Christ:

A hymn becometh thee, O God, in Sion. O God, who art our Redeemer, a hymn becometh thee, not in Babylon, not in the confusion of sins, but in Sion, that is, in the contemplation of virtues. For praise is not seemly in the mouth of a sinner, but praise becometh the upright. When anyone begins to be renewed, and to be raised in mind to heavenly things, then first it is fitting that he praise God. And because we ought to praise God in such a way that we vow ourselves to him, beginning this in newness of life, but completing it in eternal peace, it is rightly added: And a vow shall be paid to thee in Jerusalem, that is, in the vision of peace.

Here, in this Sion, where we see through a glass and in a riddle, but not yet face to face, we begin to pay our vow to God; but we cannot fulfill it entirely, so long as there is in us what the Apostle says: To will is present with me, but to accomplish that which is good I find not. For our good works will then be perfected, when the flesh has so consented to the spirit that it can no longer desire against it. This we wish whenever we desire the perfection of righteousness. Therefore it is said: To will is present with me. But because this is in no way fulfilled in this corruption, therefore it is immediately added: But to accomplish that which is good I find not. For the perfection of good is where there is no concupiscence of evil. Then, therefore, it shall be paid in that heavenly peace, when there shall be no more evil, but the highest good.

There we shall be whole, that is, entire, not only in soul, but the flesh itself in the resurrection of the just. Peace shall conquer, and war shall be ended; death shall be destroyed, and there shall be life forever. Then our desire shall be fulfilled. Then shall come to pass what is now prophesied. And a vow shall be paid to thee in Jerusalem. For this the Church sighs; whence also she prays humbly, saying:

Hear, O God, my prayer. That in that heavenly Jerusalem I may pay my vow. For I know that not only souls, but all flesh shall come to thee. Here the prophet openly announces the resurrection. Whence the Apostle says: We shall all (he says), whether good or bad, stand before the judgment seat of Christ. And elsewhere: As I live, saith the Lord, every knee shall bow to me, and every tongue shall confess. And he adds the reason why it is necessary that he be heard, when he says:

The words of the wicked, that is, of the devil and of Eve, who persuaded Adam, have prevailed over us. Because they plunged us into sin. And yet thou, O Lord, wilt be merciful to our iniquities. By pardoning them. The first sin was made through a word, and through a word evils unpunished happen daily. Whence the Apostle, describing the evil of the tongue, says: The tongue is a restless evil, full of deadly poison. And elsewhere he says: In the power of the tongue are life and death. Therefore the evil of the tongue must be guarded against, lest we speak what may harm, nor be corrupted by the words of the impious. And if we sin in this, let us be corrected. For we have an advocate with the Father, Jesus Christ the just. And he is the propitiation for our sins. By whose propitiation he commends man as chosen and saved, when he adds:

Blessed is he whom thou hast chosen, that is, whom thou hast separated from the mass of the lost, by converting him to faith. And hast taken to dignity. Therefore blessed, because he shall dwell in thy courts, that is, in the heavenly Jerusalem, which he calls courts on account of its breadth. Christ assumed in himself a certain blessed one, and though he has assumed many, it is not said of many, but of one. He commends, therefore, the unity which he assumed. For he rejected heresies and schisms. But those who remain in the joints of Christ are his members. He makes, as it were, one man, of whom the Apostle says: Until we all meet in the knowledge of the Son of God, unto a perfect man, unto the measure of the age of the fulness of Christ. And because this one consists of many, he again returns from the singular number to the plural, and shows another reason for beatitude, saying: We shall be filled with the good things of thy house.

What are the good things of the house of God? Wonderful and ineffable. For what eye hath not seen, nor ear heard, neither hath it entered into the heart of man, God hath prepared for those who love him. We ought, therefore, now to hunger and thirst for these things, that we may afterward deserve to be filled with such great goods. Behold, great are the goods of the house of God, and blessed is it to be filled with his goods. Now let us hear what this house is.

Holy is thy temple, he says, wonderful in equity. The holy Church of the elect is called a house, because it is inhabited by God. A temple, because it is sanctified through God. Whence the Apostle says: The temple of God is holy, which you are. This holy temple of God is called wonderful, not in columns, not in marbles, not in gilded roofs, but in equity. What is equity? What you would not have done to yourself, do not do to another. And what you would that men should do to you, do you also to them. In these two precepts is equity and justice. When just men, who are the house and temple of God, observe these things, they appear wonderful in equity, in justice, in holiness, in morals, in actions, in virtues. Therefore, to obtain this equity he prays humbly, saying: Hear us, O God our salvation.

When he said God, he immediately added, "our salvation," that he might more clearly declare whom he meant by "God." For "salvation" properly means Jesus Christ, through whose incarnation we have been saved. He himself, the mediator of God and men, intercedes for us, as man, and hears us, as God. In God is our salvation and our hope. Not of one corner only, not of Judea only, not of the East only, or the West only, but The hope of all the ends of the earth. For in him hope also those who dwell in the farthest parts of the earth. Nor do only those hope in him who are on solid land, but also those who dwell on the most remote islands. This is what he adds: And in the sea afar off. But how far off it has become, hope is shown, when it is further added:

Preparing the mountains in thy strength. By mountains he means the Apostles and the preachers, transcending, by the height of their life, all earthly things. Whom Almighty God prepared, and prepares, by calling, by justifying, by informing with grace, doctrine, and morals. And well canst thou prepare them, because thou art girded with power. Our Lord and Redeemer, according to his humanity, is said to be Girded with power. Whence the Psalmist elsewhere says to him: Gird thy sword upon thy thigh, O thou most mighty. And again: The Lord is clothed with strength, and hath girded himself. But in that he is the Word with the Father, he is neither clothed with strength, nor girded with power. Rather he himself is the strength and power and wisdom. The Lord, therefore, having become incarnate, since he is surrounded on every side, fortified on every side, by his divinity, is not undeservedly called girded with power. Girded, moreover, as one prepared for battle against the devil and the world. Whence he immediately adds:

Who troubles the depth of the sea, the sound of its waves. The bottom of the sea is the heart of the impious. For just as everything is more vehemently stirred from the bottom, and the bottom contains everything: so whatever proceeded through the tongue, through the hands to the persecution of the Church, proceeded from the depth. For if the root of iniquity were not in the heart, all those things would not proceed against Christ. He troubled the bottom, perhaps that he might drain the bottom: for in certain evil men he drained the sea from the bottom, and turned the sea into a desert. Another psalm says this: Who turned the sea into dry land. All the impious, such as the pagans who believed, were the sea: they became land: at first sterile from salty fruits, afterward fruitful with the fruit of righteousness. He troubles the sound of the waves, when he scatters the threats of the proud.

Or he troubles the sound of the waves, when God stirs up the tumult of thoughts in the hearts of the impious. Thoughts rise in the heart, when they call their own depravities back to memory. The sea is troubled, because the bitterness of penitence trembles: and what is at the bottom is brought up to the top, when the evil which lay in the heart is opened by the mouth of confession. Who does this in the heart of the sinner, but the pious power of the Redeemer? Concerning which it is further added:

The nations shall be troubled, and they that dwell in the borders shall fear at thy signs. For this reason the Lord and His Disciples worked such great signs and wonders, that when the nations who had no faith saw them, they might be troubled for their sins, and fear God, and believing, might be saved. And because in the way of God one begins with fear, but is perfected in charity, it is rightly further subjoined: The outgoings of the morning and of the evening thou shalt delight. Morning signifies prosperity, evening tribulation: because morning is joyful, the sadness of night, as it were, having passed. But darkness is sad, when evening comes. God therefore delights, that is, makes His servants delight, in the outgoings of morning and evening, that is, so that they may go out from the prosperity and adversity of this world. They are not exalted by prosperity, not broken by adversity. They pass through all things with strong mind, joyful and eager they press on to the end.

Such was Paul, when he said: I desire to be dissolved and to be with Christ. Now the order of the words is to be noted: first the perturbation of fear is set, then the delight of love. Fear excludes vices: charity despises earthly things. Magnificently, then, he set: The outgoing shall delight. For if it does not delight you, you do not labor to go out. Delight in the Lord, and the world will be loathsome to you. Now to what was said before, Preparing the mountains in thy strength, this verse which is subjoined seems to refer:

Thou hast visited the earth and inebriated it: thou hast greatly enriched it. Thou hast sent thy clouds, that they might rain down the preaching of truth. The earth was inebriated, that is, earthly hearts were filled with the heavenly shower of wisdom, so as to bring forth manifold the fruit of life. Almighty God visits the earth, as often as He breathes upon the sinner through His grace. But He inebriates, when it is filled with so great a love of Him, that it is changed for the better in life and morals. For it is customary that through inebriation the sense of those who drink is changed. Hence it is said elsewhere of the elect: They shall be inebriated with the plenty of thy house: because they are filled with so great a love of almighty God, that with their mind changed they seem strangers even to themselves.

For it seems a kind of inebriation, having despised riches, to love poverty, to hold oneself in contempt, to rejoice in tribulations, to love death rather than life, to pant with all desires for those things which do not appear. In this way the earth, once inebriated, cannot be sterile. It is greatly enriched by God with manifold spiritual gifts: hence Paul says: To one is given the word of wisdom, to another the word of knowledge, to another kinds of tongues, to another the grace of healings. And with some others enumerated: All these things (he says) the one and the same Spirit works, dividing to each as He wills. And because God thus enriches His earth, it is rightly said: Thou hast greatly enriched it. Moreover He declares this spirit of manifold grace, when He adds: The river of God is filled with waters.

What ought to be understood by the river of God, the Lord Himself suggests to us, where He says: He that believes in me, as the Scripture says, out of his belly shall flow rivers of living water. This (says the Evangelist) He said of the Spirit which those who believed in Him were about to receive. And just as many waters meet in one river: so in one Spirit many divisions of graces exist. Therefore the Holy Spirit is called a river, because He comes with impetus, and cleanses from the filth of sins the mind into which He is poured. Therefore water, because He waters the mind, and refreshes it from the heat of carnal desires. But since we have heard of the drink, let us now hear what He adds concerning the food of the soul: Thou hast prepared their food, for so is its preparation. What food? Surely that of which He Himself says: I am the living bread, which came down from heaven. If any man eat of this bread, he shall live for ever.

How did He prepare this food for us? Because the Word was made flesh, and dwelt among us. It is well said, Thou hast prepared, because He labored with much diligence and much toil, so that He might be able to refresh the minds of the elect from Himself. Whence he fittingly says: For so, that is, through thee, is its preparation. For neither could an apostle, nor a prophet, nor an angel have prepared so great a food, but only the mediator of God and men, the man Christ Jesus. Sacred Scripture also is a food prepared for us by the Lord, by which we are daily refreshed, lest we faint in the desert of this pilgrimage. Whence it is written: Not by bread alone does man live, but by every word that proceeds from the mouth of God. Behold, the food is prepared, behold, the river is prepared: but fragile man is not able to receive these, unless the heavenly goodness deigns to assist. Therefore he prays, saying:

Inebriating its streams, multiply its offspring.

By the streams of that river he means the Apostles and teachers, through whom the Holy Spirit flows down into the hearts of those who hear. Whence it is written: For it is not you that speak, but the Holy Spirit who speaks in you. When the Apostles received this Spirit sent from the Father from heaven, they were so imbued with His fullness, that speaking of the wondrous works of God in various tongues, they were thought by some to be drunk. And indeed they were drunk, but spiritually, not carnally. But whence God inebriates those who preach, thence He multiplies believers. Multiply (he says) its offspring. Those are called offspring who are regenerated from water and the Holy Spirit. And he does not say Their offspring, but its: because, as a certain inebriated stream says: Neither is he anything that plants, nor he that waters: but God who gives the increase.

And because within the holy Church not only overflowing wisdom, but even slight and small teaching bears fruit to God, it is rightly subjoined: In its drippings shall the springing-up rejoice. To little ones and to those still weak, certain things are dripped from the sacraments, because they cannot receive the fullness of truth. Hear how Paul drips to certain ones less capable: I could not (he says) speak to you as unto spiritual, but as unto carnal, as unto little ones in Christ. In the drippings, then, the springing-up rejoices, when he who has been newly exhorted in the faith cannot yet grasp great things: but nevertheless receives gladly the few things which he hears, and strives to bring forth the fruits of good works and virtues, so far as he is able. In this present life you shall give these benefits which have been mentioned: in the future, what follows he says:

Thou shalt bless the crown of the year of thy goodness. That is, thou shalt reward thy saints, who shall stand around thee like a crown of palm and of victory, and shall be to thee a sign of victory. Or otherwise: where you hear crown, the glory of victory is designated. Conquer the devil, and you shall have the crown. Now the year, because it is a complete season, signifies the span of eternal life. The crown of the year, then, is the perfect glory pertaining to eternal life, which God is about to give to His saints after the struggles of this life: not from their merits, but from His blessing and grace. Whence He is also about to say: Come, blessed of my Father, receive the kingdom prepared for you from the foundation of the world. And therefore he added of thy goodness, that the grace of God might be commended, so that no one might glory in his own merits.

Now this blessing of the crown, which he has set forth, he pursues part by part, when he adds: And thy fields shall be filled with plenty.

The beautiful places of the desert shall grow fat: and the hills shall be girded about with joy. The rams of the flock are clothed, and the valleys shall abound with corn. What does he mean by fields, if not fruitful just men? What by desert, if not the sterile sinners he wished to designate? Paul suggests that certain just men are, as it were, fields, where he says: You are God's husbandry. Consider how great is the depth of divine mercy. On account of it He does not thereafter abandon the desert. On account of the just He does not reject the sinners: those He shall fill with plenty, that is, with eternal refreshment, as has already been said before: They shall be inebriated with the plenty of thy house. These others He shall make fat with the sweetness of His grace, that where sin abounded, grace may more abound.

And it is to be noted, that he does not say, The desert shall grow fat, but the beautiful places of the desert: because God will not save the whole sinful mass, but only those who come out from the filth of vices; and become beautiful through faith, uprightness of morals, and the comeliness of virtues. Or by the beautiful places of the desert the Churches of the Gentiles may be figured, which shall then grow fat, when they shall have all things perfectly. For God shall be all in all; nor shall the gifts of the Holy Spirit be divided. By the hills, moreover, may be understood the holy martyrs, who surpass the fields, that is, the just, in the virtue of their passion. These are they who came out of great tribulation. Therefore they shall rightly be girded, that is, they shall be surrounded on every side, both in soul and in body, with exultation. Everlasting joy shall be to them as a kind of girdle, surrounding them on every side, containing them everywhere, cleaving to them inseparably.

Hence the Lord says to certain ones: I will see you again, and your heart shall rejoice, and your joy no man shall take from you. Then also they shall be girded with exultation, when they shall be surrounded and filled with divinity itself. Then also the Lord shall clothe the rams of the flock, that is, the leaders of souls, with the robe of gladness and the vesture of immortality. Or they shall be clothed with exultation, because together with their flock they shall rejoice in eternal peace. Exultation shall be to them as a kind of garment, when no part of trouble shall remain any more, either in soul or in body. For the Lord shall wipe away every tear from the eyes of the saints: and death shall be no more, nor mourning, nor crying, nor shall there be any more pain: for the former things are passed away. And the valleys shall abound with corn, because obedient and humble souls shall be refreshed with heavenly food. The Lord Himself shall be their corn.

For He Himself is the true food of souls. And there all, not so much with voice as with mind: not so much with the noise of words as with the affection of the heart, in unspeakable gladness, shall cry out. And their cry shall be nothing but the praise of God. Therefore he adds: For they shall utter a hymn. Whence it is said elsewhere: Blessed are they who dwell in thy house, O Lord, they shall praise thee for ever and ever. Let us, therefore, begin here to utter a hymn to our Lord, that we may deserve to praise Him perfectly in the future. For he who does not begin now, will not praise Him afterward either.

In this manner the psalm which follows is entitled: Unto the end, A Song of a Psalm of the Resurrection. In this psalm a song is set before us, for exulting over our resurrection, which God will work in all who tend unto the end, that is, unto Christ. This resurrection is the subject matter of this psalm. In the first part he admonishes all nations to praise, proclaim, glorify and adore the terrible God with heart, voice and deed. In the second part (which begins, Come and see) he commends the works of God as terrible: where he designates the calling of the Gentiles, and the reprobation of the Jews.

In the third part (which begins, Bless, ye nations) he admonishes the nations to bless their God for so many and so great benefits conferred upon them: both because he frees souls from death, and makes them persevere in good; and because after many temptations and trials he brings them to eternal refreshment, where they may always rejoice, and there fully pay to their God the vows which they began here. In the fourth part (where it is said, Come, hear) he sets forth himself as an example, proclaiming the good things which the Lord has done for his soul. And because he cried unto him with mouth and heart without iniquity, therefore God heard him. In which he exhorts us to do likewise: that we may deserve to be heard by him and to obtain his mercy. This is the intention and the usefulness of this psalm. Whence now, in the voice of the primitive Church, or of any perfect man, it is said:

Shout unto God, all the earth. That is, ye Gentiles converted from all the earth, shout unto God with exultation of mind. See how the universality of the Church spread through the whole world is commended, when it is said, All the earth. But what is, Shout ye? Break forth in the voice of rejoicing, if ye cannot in that of words. For no word is jubilated, but only the sound of those rejoicing is given forth, as it were of a heart in travail and bringing forth. Shout, he says, that is, conceive in your voice the joy of a thing which cannot be explained in words. Say a psalm to his name: give glory to his praise. To psallere is also to take up an instrument, which is called a psaltery, and by the striking and working of the hands to accord with the voices. If therefore ye shout with jubilation, that God may hear, sing also that men may see and hear: but not to your own name.

For beware of doing your righteousness before men, that ye may be seen by them. What is, say a psalm? The Gospel explains this to us, where it says: Let your light shine before men. But what is here added, Give glory to his praise, is more clearly declared there, when it is further added: That, seeing your good works, they may glorify your Father who is in heaven. He gives glory to the praise of God, whose good life agrees with right preaching. He sings to the name of the Lord, when in the good work which he does, he seeks not his own praise, but the Lord's. Sing therefore to his name, not to your own. Do ye sing, let him be praised. Do ye live well, let him be glorified. He directs our whole intention to the praise of God. He has left us nothing whereby we might be praised.

God does not wish that we glory in ourselves, lest the glory be vain: but he wishes that we glory in him, that the glory may be sound. Whence it is further added:

Say unto God, How terrible are thy works, O Lord! Why terrible? Because blindness in part has happened to Israel, that the fulness of the Gentiles might enter in. Be ye therefore the more afraid, because ye see the natural branches cut off. For the Jews, who came through the Patriarchs, were born of the flesh of Abraham. And what does the Apostle say? But thou sayest, The branches were broken, that I might be grafted in: Well. Because of unbelief they were broken off: but thou (he says) standest by faith. Be not high-minded, but fear. For if God spared not the natural branches, neither will he spare thee. Considering, therefore, the branches broken off and yourself grafted in, be not lifted up over the broken branches, but rather: Say unto God, How terrible are thy works, O Lord. Fear him in his terrible works, and do not be proud because he has called you on high: lest he not spare you, who cut off the natural branches.

Whose cutting off is shown, when it is added: In the multitude of thy strength, that is, in many strengths and miracles. Thine enemies shall lie unto thee, that is, the Jews, who are properly called enemies. And by this they were the more deserving of reprobation, because amid so many strengths and miracles, when they ought to have believed, they remained unbelieving. But they lied, saying false testimony concerning Christ: affirming that his body was stolen from the tomb: denying the resurrection. And it is very much to be noted that when he said, They shall lie, he immediately added unto thee, that is, to your advantage. For the lie of the Jews served to commend your great power. Why are our enemies wont to lie? To diminish the power of him about whom they lie. To thee, he says, the contrary happens. For your power would appear less, if they had not lied unto you. They lied, and Christ was killed: he rose from the dead, and was preached everywhere.

His power grew on the earth, and what follows was fulfilled:

Let all the earth worship thee, O God, and sing unto thee: let it sing a psalm to thy name. That is, let every kind of man dwelling on the earth worship and honor thee, who art the true God. For to worship pertains properly to divine cult: in which also faith is commended. But because that same faith without works is dead, it is rightly added: And sing unto thee, that is, work well to your honor. Let it say a psalm, that is, let it proclaim good work: and this not to itself, but to thy name, that is, to the praise and glory of thy name. For then we usefully worship God, when to the worship of faith we join good work, in which God is honored, and draw others with us, whom we can, to the service of God by word and example. This he seems to do here, when he immediately adds:

Come and see the works of God. O ye Gentiles, O ye farthest nations, leave the lying Jews. Come confessing: approach with the steps of the mind, with the affections of love. Come to the Lord, hasten to the faith, run to the Church. See, that is, believe and understand the works which the Lord has done, who is Terrible in his counsels toward the sons of men. The sons of men devised a counsel to crucify Christ. The crucified one blinded those who crucified him. You devised counsels of destroying, he of blinding and saving: of blinding the proud, of saving the humble. To this end indeed he blinded the proud themselves, that being blinded they might be humbled, being humbled they might confess, having confessed they might be enlightened. Terrible therefore in his counsels toward the sons of men. And truly terrible. For behold, blindness in part has happened to Israel. Behold, the Jews, of whom Christ was born, are outside. Behold, the Gentiles, who were opposed to Judea, are within in Christ.

Therefore what did he do by the terror of his counsel? There follows, and he says:

Who turned the sea into dry land. The sea was the world, bitter with saltiness, turbulent with storm, raging with the waves of persecutions. It was a sea, it was turned into dry land. Now the world, which was full of salt water, thirsts for sweet water. Whence he says elsewhere: My soul is as earth without water unto thee. Those very ones who were turned into dry land, though they were before bitter, In the river they shall pass through on foot. The river is all the mortality of the age. For after the manner of a river, one thing comes and passes, another about to pass succeeds. What is born in the earth, and flows on? Everyone who has been born must yield to one about to be born. Therefore this whole order of things slipping away is like a river. If a covetous soul casts itself into this river, it perishes. How then shall it pass through the delights of things that are to perish?

Let it believe in Christ, and with him as leader it shall pass through the river on foot. What is it to pass through on foot? To pass easily. It does not seek a horse, in order to cross. Pride is not raised up to cross the river. The humble one crosses, and crosses the more quickly. This the Lord also did in the letter, in the old people: but as the Apostle says, all these things happened to them in a figure. And it is to be noted that he does not say They shall pass, but They shall pass through. For to pass through the river on foot is, in this mortality, by living humbly and simply, to hasten toward the things of heaven. But to pass through is to finish the course of right living by a good death. Paul also was passing through, when he said: I have fought the good fight, I have finished the course, I have kept the faith.

For the rest, there is laid up for me a crown of righteousness, which the Lord, the righteous judge, shall render to me on that day. Whence now it is fittingly added: There shall he rejoice in him. For here we sit by the rivers of Babylon and weep, and tears are our bread, while it is said daily, Where is thy God? But there, the river now crossed, mortality finished, incorruption received: there he shall rejoice in him, that is, in our God. Then shall be our true and perfect joy, when we shall be like him, and shall see him as he is.

Who ruleth by his power for ever: and this in his own strength, that is, his own, forever: which is truly omnipotence, and belongs to God alone. For those who rule in this world rule neither in their own strength, but God's, nor forever, but temporally. For if our strength were eternal, we should not have fallen into sin, nor deserved the penalty of death. Therefore weakened by ourselves, but made strong through him, who rules in his own strength forever: we shall be partakers of his strength through him. That this was done not by our merits, but by his mercy, is shown, when it is further added: His eyes behold the nations. For that the Gentiles believed was brought about by the regard of divine mercy, which, when it chooses, rejects Judea. Whence he also adds: Let them that provoke not be exalted in themselves. The provocation of the Jews was their very unbelief, was their pride, also their anger and envy: there were wicked morals, and words of reproach and blasphemy against Christ and the Church.

Because they were elated in themselves, they deserved not to be exalted, but to be led by the Lord. He seems to have cursed, as it were, when he says, Let them not be exalted. Rather let them be exalted, but not in themselves; let them be humbled in themselves, exalted in God. For he who humbles himself shall be exalted; and he who exalts himself shall be humbled. Having known these works and received such great benefits, he admonishes to bless God, and says,

Bless, ye Gentiles, our God. Now the seed of Abraham has come, in whom all nations shall be blessed. Bless ye therefore, in whom you shall be blessed. For he who blesses him shall himself also be blessed. For we are not commanded to bless God for this reason, that our blessing should confer anything upon God, who has no need of our goods; but we are commanded to bless for this reason, that from the affection of blessing we may merit the grace of him whom we bless: and thus the blessing itself may be turned back upon us. It also pertains to our religion and the worship of faith to bless, proclaim, and praise our God with the whole heart, with the whole affection. Therefore he further adds: And make heard the voice of his praise. Not only among yourselves praise him, but also make the voice of his praise heard to others, and proclaim it. So bless God in yourselves, that you may also announce him to others by preaching.

For it is he who has set my soul unto life. God has set our souls unto life, because he has quickened by faith those redeemed from death. Death is in us, life is in God. As the Apostle says to certain believers: Ye were once darkness, but now light in the Lord. But what is needed thereafter, except that we should persevere unto the end? And this he himself has given, concerning which he then says: Who has not suffered my feet to be moved. He who has set my soul unto life, himself rules my feet, lest they waver, lest the good affections be moved from the good beginning. Why do you say, Because he has not suffered your feet to be moved? For (he says) we have suffered many things.

Because thou hast proved us, O God, that is, thou hast shown us proved both to ourselves and to others. Thou hast examined us with fire, as silver is examined. Either with material fire, as Laurence: or with fire, that is, with whatever tribulation, thou hast not burnt us up, as hay; but hast purged us, as silver. By applying to us fire, thou hast not turned us into ashes, but hast taken away the filth. The Lord proves his saints, and examines them with the fire of tribulations, that they may be cleansed from all earthly filth and delight of the flesh. But the delights of the flesh fail greatly in adversities. And he explains these examinations part by part, when he adds:

11. Thou hast brought us into the snare, thou hast laid tribulations on our back: thou hast set men over our heads. By snare he means bonds, prisons, or any temptations whatsoever.

It is not, however, to be understood that God brings anyone into a snare (since he himself tempts no one to evil), but he is said to bring, when he permits to be brought. Whence in prayer we say: And lead us not into temptation, that is, do not permit us to be led. But whether tribulations are laid upon the back of the saints, ask Paul. For he will not conceal that he received from the Jews five times forty stripes save one. Now the men set over their heads were those who ruled over them, to such a degree that they could pronounce capital sentences. All these things the Church has suffered in various and diverse persecutions. This also each one suffers individually in some manner. For there is no one who can say himself free from these temptations in this life. Therefore men also are set over our heads. We endure those whom we do not wish. We suffer at times as superiors those whom we know to be worse.

For we were wickedly puffed up in pride. Being wickedly puffed up, we are bowed down, that being well bowed down we may be rightly raised up. And it is good that we consider ourselves to be sinners, and thus bear those set over our heads: that we too may confess to God, because we suffer deservedly. For what do you suffer undeservedly, which he who is just has also done? Thou hast laid tribulations on our back: thou hast set men over our heads. God seems to rage, when he does these things. Fear not, he is a father. He never so rages as to destroy. When you live wickedly, if he spares, he is more angry. These tribulations altogether are the scourges of one correcting, lest there be the sentence of one punishing. Whence it is also subjoined:

12. We have passed through fire and water: and thou hast brought us out into a place of refreshment. Fire and water are both dangerous in this life.

Certainly water seems to extinguish fire, and fire seems to dry up water. These same are the temptations with which this life abounds. Fire burns, water corrupts. Both are to be feared, the burning of tribulation, and the water of corruption. When things are straitened, and there is something which in this world is called misfortune, it is as it were fire. When things are prosperous, and worldly abundance flows around, it is as it were water. Take care lest the fire burn you, lest the water corrupt you. Be firm against the fire, you must be baked: as a vessel made is put into the furnace, that what has been shaped may be made firm. A vessel, therefore, firmed by fire does not fear water. But a vessel, if it has not been solidified by fire, will be dissolved by water like mud. Fire, therefore, comes first. Afterward, fear being removed, one must beware lest good fortune corrupt.

But when the fire has not made you burst, and you are not submerged in the water, but have swum through by discipline, passing to rest, and passing through fire and water, you are brought out into everlasting refreshment. Thou hast brought out (he says), that is, thou wilt bring out: for he put the past for the future. For the spirit of prophecy knows future things as it knows past things. Then, the tribulations being past, what will happen? There follows:

13. I will go into thy house, not made with hands, that is, the heavenly house. In holocausts, that is, with all corruptibility consumed. For then will the holocaust be perfectly made, when this corruptible shall have put on incorruption, and this mortal shall have put on immortality. Then will come to pass the word that is written: Death is swallowed up in victory. Victory is, as it were, the divine fire, when it swallows up our death. Let thy fire consume all that is mine. Let nothing remain to me: let all be thine.

Such a holocaust will the body of Christ offer, that is, the Church, which here speaks. Now a holocaust is called that which is wholly burnt, when the whole burns and is wholly consumed by divine fire. Nothing mortal will remain in the flesh, nor anything blameworthy in the spirit. In that house:

14. I will render to thee my vows, which my lips have distinguished. That is, they have chosen above all others, namely myself, since the vow is preferred above all. There is also a distinction in vows, that you accuse yourself, and praise him. That you understand yourself to be a creature, him the creator: yourself darkness, him the illuminator. Whatever we here distinguish with our lips, in promise, or ordinance, or vow, when we shall enter into that house, we shall pay it all to the Lord our God. Or to distinguish vows with the lips is to discern with mind and reason those things which are offered to God. Whence it is written: If thou offer rightly, but dost not rightly divide, thou hast sinned.

He who offers a good work to God offers rightly indeed, but does not divide rightly, if he thereby seeks worldly glory, or some gain apart from God. Holy Church, therefore, distinguishes her vows with her inward lips, because the vows which she offers to God she separates from all human praise and earthly advantage. Nor did I only vow vows in prosperity: but I also kept confession in adversity. Whence he also adds: And my mouth hath spoken in my tribulation. For the holy martyrs confessed Christ amid torments. We are Christ's servants (they said): we hold Christ's faith: we desire to die for Christ. Hence Paul says: With the heart we believe unto righteousness, but with the mouth confession is made unto salvation. With the heart, therefore, faith is to be held: with the mouth truth is to be proclaimed. Then he shows how he enters into the house of God in holocausts: and he himself explains the holocausts, saying:

15. I will offer thee holocausts full of marrow, with the burning of rams.

What is "full of marrow"? Rich, sweet, full of charity and sweetness. I will offer myself to thee, a rich sacrifice, with the burning of rams, that is, with all the height and rigidity of pride burned up and consumed, in my marrow will be that I love thee. For nothing is more inward than our marrow. Bones are more interior than flesh, marrows are more interior than the bones themselves. Whoever, therefore, worships God on the surface wishes rather to please men. But feeling otherwise within, he does not offer holocausts full of marrow. But whoever examines the marrow of a thing, receives the whole of it. The whole body of Christ speaks this. There is something it offers to God, namely the burning of rams. Rams are the leaders of the Church. Incense is the prayer of the saints. And rams especially adorn on behalf of the flocks. And rightly is prayer received as incense, because there the heart of the elect is kindled with divine fire.

And as the smoke of incense smells sweetly to men, so the devotion of prayer burns sweetly to God. I will offer thee oxen with goats. We find oxen threshing, and they too are offered to God. The Apostle said that this is to be understood of the preachers of the Gospel, as it is written: Thou shalt not muzzle the ox that treadeth out the corn. Great, then, are those rams, great those oxen. What of those who perchance are conscious of certain sins? Shall they then remain, and have no part in the holocaust? Lest they themselves fear, he added also goats. Goats by themselves are not saved, but joined to the oxen they are received. They have made themselves friends of the mammon of iniquity, that they too may be received into the eternal tabernacles. Therefore such goats will not be on the left hand, since by alms they have redeemed their sins.

By oxen, then, can be figured the virtues of the elect, by which the hardness of the mind is ploughed up, that it may be made fit to bear spiritual fruits. Those, then, offer oxen to God who humbly ascribe to his grace the virtues they possess. To offer goats also is humbly to confess to the Lord unclean and wanton motions of the soul. We offer goats to God, when we immolate in ourselves all luxury and wantonness. Again he invites the Gentiles to understand other benefits, saying:

Come, with the steps of the mind: hear, with the ears of the heart, and I will declare (all ye that fear God). If you fear not God, I will not declare. There is none to whom to declare, where the fear of God is not. The fear of God will open the ears, that there may be a way for what I am about to declare to enter. Namely, how great benefits, besides those which have been said, he has done for my soul, if you wish, for yours too. For he granted that I should cry unto him, and crying should exult in heart. And this is what he says:. I cried to him with my mouth, and exulted under my tongue. This he says was done for his soul, that with his own mouth he might cry to God. For formerly the Church of the Gentiles worshipped stones, and cried out to dumb idols. Now the image of God has been turned to its creator.

And she who said to the stone, Thou art my father: now says to God, Our Father, who art in heaven. With my mouth (he says) I cried, not with another's mouth. For when they cried out to stones, they cried with another's mouth. When I cried to God, which he himself inspired, I cried to him with my own mouth. But to exult under the tongue is to conceive joy in the heart from the cry of the voice. This is the true cry to God, namely the affection of the heart. I have proclaimed him publicly: I have confessed him in secret. It is little to exalt God with the tongue, but also under the tongue: so that what you speak aloud, you think silently. He cries out exultantly under the tongue, whom conscience does not gnaw. But whoever's conscience is sinful, his prayer also is useless. Which is manifestly declared, when it is subjoined:

If I have looked upon iniquity in my heart, the Lord will not hear. Iniquity is, as it were, looked upon in the heart, when it pleases the eyes of the mind, when it delights, when reason itself approves and loves it. For those things which we love, we are wont gladly to look upon. But because (as it is written) to the unclean and to sinners nothing is clean: whatever is derived from an unclean heart, whether prayer, or preaching, or action, is all reckoned by God unclean and unfruitful. Therefore God will not hear the prayer of one whose mind he sees corrupted by iniquity. Do not, therefore, look upon that in your heart, that is, do not love it within yourself. Whatever it may promise as joyful, to entice to sin: whatever it may threaten as sad, to drive to evil-doing, is worthy to be despised, that it may be trampled underfoot: not to be looked upon, that it may be accepted.

Therefore God hath heard, and hath attended to the voice of my supplication. What is "therefore"? Because I have not looked upon iniquity in my heart. Hence the Apostle says: If our heart reprove us not, we have confidence, that whatsoever we shall ask, we shall receive. And this is not from our merits, but from his grace. Therefore he adds this:

Blessed be God, who hath not turned away my prayer, nor his mercy from me. For thus he who speaks here has arrived at the resurrection, where already we too are in hope, and this is our voice. As long, therefore, as we are here, we pray God this, that he turn not away from us our prayer, and his mercy, that is, that we pray perseveringly, and that he perseveringly have mercy. Many, however, grow faint in praying, and though fervent in the newness of their conversion, afterward become cold and negligently secure. The soul grows sluggish, prayer is interrupted. You sleep, the enemy watches, temptations grow up. Therefore the Lord commanded that we ought always to pray, and never to lose heart. Let us not, therefore, grow slack in praying, secure of the promise: because if he delays, he does not take away. And with pious affection let us say: Blessed be God, who hath not turned away my prayer, nor his mercy from me.

When you see that your prayer has not been turned away from you, be secure, because his mercy has not been turned away from you.

The title of the following psalm is: Unto the end, among hymns, a psalm of a canticle of David. This psalm applies to David the prophet, or to any believer whatsoever: and it is called a psalm for this reason, because it admonishes to confession. And it is called a canticle, because it sets before us the greatest exultation concerning the illumination of both peoples, namely the Jews and the Gentiles, which was to come through Christ. A psalm, I say, held among hymns, that is, among the praises of God; or "among hymns," that is, among those which by excellence are called hymns. For the prophet understood that God was to be praised for the illumination which He was about to give to the world; concerning which we ought all to praise Him with the utmost zeal. This indeed is what the psalm intends to admonish, which directs us unto the end, that is, unto Christ. The subject matter is Christ the Illuminator. In the first part he prays for illumination.

In the second part (which begins, Let the peoples confess to Thee, O God) he exhorts to a twofold confession, that is, of sin and of praise. And he gives as the cause that God is a just judge. In the third part, in which he repeats the same verse, he admonishes to the same confession, but for another cause, namely, because the earth, formerly barren, has now at the coming of the Son given her fruit. And because he saw that all things are good through the mercy of God, before he speaks of the illumination, he prays for mercy, saying:

May God have mercy on us. By forgiving sins. And may He bless us, that is, may He multiply us both in number and in virtue; in this order, namely, that He may cause His countenance to shine upon us. That is, in the upper part of us, in our mind, may He make His Son to shine, His Wisdom, who is His countenance and image. For the Father is represented through the Son, as He Himself says: He who sees me, sees the Father also. Then he adds what he had already premised: And may He have mercy on us. For both are necessary to us, and we read both written: And His mercy shall go before me; And His mercy shall follow me. The first mercy, therefore, is concerning the remission of sins, the multitude of virtues, the illumination of wisdom. The second mercy is concerning the good things which God bestows, that He may now deign to preserve them in us.

The psalms exhort us to both: that God may bless us, and that we may bless God. When God blesses us, we grow. And when we bless God, we grow. Both profit us. First comes the Lord's blessing upon us, and consequently it follows that we too bless the Lord. That is the rain, this is the fruit: may He cause His countenance (he says) to shine upon us: His light impressed upon us has been darkened by us, and almost extinguished through sin. Let Him, therefore, take away the sin and give light. Let Him send forth the ray of His wisdom. Let Him drive away our darkness, that His image may shine in us. Wherefore he turns himself to familiar speech with God, and says:

That we may know Thy way upon earth. In what earth? Among all the nations. What way? Thy salvation, that is, Thy Son, by whom we are saved. For He Himself says: I am the way, the truth, and the life. To this end, therefore, have mercy, to this end give light, that we may know the way by which we may be able to reach Thee. Observe how Christ was made for us the way. The Evangelist says: The Word was made flesh, and dwelt among us. In this, then, that God was made man, confidence has been given to us that man may be able to become God. And because He made our flesh immortal, He gave us the certainty that what is mortal can attain to immortality. This is the way which God has shown us on earth, by which we may walk toward the things of heaven. And this is our faith.

Let the peoples, therefore, confess to Thee, O God; let all the peoples confess to Thee. Because they have known Thy way. Let them now confess their sins. Let them confess also Thy praise. And not one people only, but all peoples: because all are invited to grace. Let them first accuse themselves; let them first condemn themselves, so that afterward they may worthily praise Thee. Why do you fear to confess, O man, who by not confessing cannot remain hidden? You will be condemned though silent, who might have been set free by confessing. To this end God requires confession, that He may free the humble. And because this confession leads not to punishment but to joy, he continues and says:

Let the nations be glad and exult. Gladness pertains to the soul; exultation to the body. Since, therefore, they are saved in body and soul, let the nations be glad and exult. And he says why: because Thou judgest the peoples in equity. Rendering to each according to his own merits. And because for this reason alone He would not be much praised (for unless He visited men mercifully even in this life, all would be condemned), he therefore added: And Thou dost guide the nations upon earth: understand, that by living rightly they may walk. The nations were twisted; the hand of God came; it was extended mercifully. He directed through justice those whom He found crooked through guilt. The nations have been made straight; they walk in faith, rejoicing in their God, doing pious works. He repeats, therefore, the same verse in the exhortation which he had premised, but adds another cause.

Let the peoples confess to Thee, O God: let all the peoples confess to Thee. Hear the cause: The earth has given her fruit. The earth, which before was cursed, and brought forth thorns and thistles (n the curse which God pronounced upon Adam: Cursed is the earth in thy work) has been made fruitful, giving her fruit, that is, her fitting works. All the earth was full of thorns. The hand of the one uprooting came; the calling of His majesty and mercy came. The earth began to confess. Now the earth gives her fruit. For God did what is added:

May God, our God, bless us; may God bless us: and let all the ends of the earth fear Him. Yes indeed, and by blessing manifoldly. For blessing is wont to be understood chiefly and properly in the sense of multiplication: which is manifest in Genesis. For as to what God did when He made light and divided it from darkness, and made the firmament and separated the sea from the dry land—nowhere there is it said: God blessed. But when it came to those things which were to have the seed of fecundity, then He blessed, saying to them: Increase and multiply, and fill the waters of the sea; and let the birds be multiplied upon the earth. Likewise also, blessing man, He said: Increase and multiply, and fill the face of the earth. It is clear, therefore, that in blessing multiplication is understood.

And it is to be noted that though God is named three times, it is not said, "let them fear them," but "him." In which the Trinity is clearly declared, which is believed to be threefold in persons, and one in substance. And let all the ends of the earth fear him (he says). Thus abundantly, in the name of Christ, may God bless us, that He may fill the whole face of the earth with His sons, adopted as co-heirs of His only-begotten Son into His kingdom. But he rightly says: And let them fear him, because there is no true security in this world. Blessed is the man who is always fearful. Man knows not the day, nor the hour, when he shall pass away. He knows not whether he is worthy of hatred or of love. Let us, therefore, fear God. Let us fear His judgment, that afterward we may be able to be secure.

Let God arise, and let His enemies be scattered. Now it has been accomplished. Christ has risen, and His enemies have been scattered throughout all the nations. The Jews, in that very place where they carried out their enmities, were vanquished, and thence scattered through all lands. And now they hate, but they fear; and by that very fear they do what follows. And let them that hate Him flee from before His face. For flight of soul is fear. For by what carnal flight do they flee from His face, who is everywhere present? Whither shall I go (he says) from Thy Spirit? And whither shall I flee from Thy face? In soul, then, not in body, do they flee: fearing rather than hiding. Nor do they flee from that face which they do not see, but from that which they are compelled to see. For His face is called His presence through His Church. Let them, then, flee from His face. Let them fear before the presence of His saints and faithful.

Or let them flee from His face, as it is written: Let the wicked be taken away, that he see not the glory of God. Concerning them it is further added:

As smoke vanisheth, let them vanish. For they lifted themselves up from the fires of their hatreds into a heap of pride: and setting their mouth against heaven, and crying out, Crucify him, crucify him, they swelled as if victors: but soon, being conquered, they vanished away. For it is proper to the proud that they vanish like smoke. For just as smoke rises from fire, so their exaltation rises from the ardor of concupiscence. And just as smoke, the higher it rises, the more it vanishes, so the proud man, the more he is exalted in elation, the more he falls short of the truth. He further increases their punishment when he adds: As wax melteth before the fire, so let sinners perish before the face of God. Although perhaps he signified here those whose hardness is dissolved by the tears of penitence, yet also another meaning can be understood, so that a future judgment is threatened.

For because in this age they, like smoke, exalting themselves, vanished away, there shall come upon them in the end their utmost condemnation, so that they perish forever from the face of God, that is, from His presence, when He shall have presented Himself in His own brightness, like fire for the punishment of the evil, and light for the good. For sinners shall indeed perish: not that they utterly cease to exist in substance, but as wax melts before the face of fire, so before the terror of the strict Judge they shall be dissolved in conscience. After showing what befalls the wicked from the exaltation of Christ, he next indicates what proceeds from the same for the good, saying:

And let the just feast, that is, be refreshed, namely by God Himself, who shall be all in all. And let them exult in the sight of God. For there shall be in this exultation no vain boasting, as it were before men, but in the sight of Him who beholds without error what He has bestowed. Or the just shall exult in the sight of God, because they shall see Him face to face. Whence it is further rightly added: And let them delight with gladness. Then indeed shall the gladness be delightful, when all fear and anxiety shall have been excluded, when eternal security shall remain, and secure eternity. Then he turns to those very ones to whom he has given so great a hope. And here he addresses the living and exhorts:

Sing to God, sing a psalm to his name. He admonishes that the things which are spoken should be fulfilled in deed. Certain ones have distinguished between a canticle and a psalm, so that since a canticle is uttered by the mouth, while a psalm is sung with a visible instrument applied, that is, a psaltery, through the canticle are seen to be signified the understandings of the mind, but through the psalm the works of the body. Thus therefore certain ones have distinguished, so that "Sing to God" seems to be said, because the things which the mind does within itself are known to God, but are not seen by men. But good works, since they ought to be seen by men for this reason, that they may glorify our Father who is in heaven, it is rightly said: "Sing psalms to his name," that is, to his renown, that he may be praiseworthily named. He sings to God who lives for God. He sings psalms to his name, who works for his glory.

Thus "sing to God"; thus "sing psalms to God," that is, by so living, by so working. And also "make a way for him," that is, by preaching, open the hearts of hearers to him. He, that is, he himself for whom you must prepare the way, "ascends upon the west." He has conquered death, as he says through his prophet: "I will be your death, O death". Make a way for Christ, that through the beautiful feet of those who evangelize, the hearts of believers may be made passable for him. For he himself ascends upon the west, since by rising again he conquered the fall of the body. Those also make a way for Christ who cleanse their hearts from wicked thoughts, and adorn them with faith and good morals and virtues. When this has been done, the house of a chaste breast suddenly becomes a temple of God. And you must make a way for him, because Lord is his name.

This name, which is Lord, belongs to him in a special way, because he himself rules through himself, and no one can rule except through him. And because good work and the preaching of God ought also to be done with gladness, it is rightly added: "Exult in his sight." For while you make a way for him, while you prepare that he may come and possess the nations, you will suffer much sorrow in the sight of men. But you should not only not fail, but also exult—not in the sight of men, but in the sight of God: "Rejoicing in hope, patient in tribulation". But those who now disturb you will afterward be disturbed from before his face. For they are to hear in the judgment: "Go into everlasting fire". "They will be disturbed from before his face." Whose face is this?