Confitebor
tibi, Domine, in toto corde meo; narrabo omnia mirabilia tua.
I will give praise to thee, O Lord, with my whole heart: I will
relate all thy wonders
© Dr. Gregory Sadler
Endnotes
1
Antonomasis occurs when an epithet or phrase is substituted for a
proper name. The Johannine passage immediately following employs
antonomasis.
2
The context of this passage in Isaiah 28 is that the people of
Israel have made a covenant with death and with hell, wrongly
thinking that, when the scourge comes, they will be thereby spared.
The time is almost upon them, signified metaphorically by the
condition of the bed.
3
St. Hillary of Poitiers, in Nicene
& Post-Nicene Fathers
Series 2, vol 9. Philip Schaff, ed. p. 55. Another, more literal
translation is: “for though he who pursues the infinite with
reverence will never finally reach the end, yet he will always
progress by pressing onward,” from Douglas C. Hall, The
Trinity: An Analysis of St. Thomas Aquinas' Expositio of the de
Trinitate of Boethius,
p. 121 ftnt. 19 [modification of Pegis’ trans. of Summa
Contra Gentiles]
4
To modern secular readers this may sound somewhat counterintuitive,
since singing is a work of the mouth. For religious orders,
recitation of Psalms (singing them) was a daily task for monks,
friars, and nuns. And, prayer was in fact understood as one of the
key duties of the religious profession.
5
Reading “qua” here for “quia.” The idea here is that Christ
was judged by the human authorities as among the wicked. That is,
they misjudged his cause. He, however, correctly judges his own
cause. He comes into his glory precisely through doing what he ought
in the affair, accepting a wrongfully imposed death.
6
Thomas
seems to have (f) perdidisti
impium
in mind, but misquotes, the misquotation matching better with (g)
7
Thomas
seems to have in mind here Mark 9:25.
8
The context in Isaiah is counsel to provide exiles with necessities
of life, water and bread, thereby sustaining them. The preacher does
likewise spiritually.
9
This context in this chapter of Isaiah is the prophecy of Zion’s
restoration, and is interpreted as referring to the multiplication
of the members of the Christian Church, conveying God’s promise
that his mercy will not depart from it.
10
Psalm 139 in the Vulgate
does
not contain the first part of the verse. Thomas seems to also have
in mind Psalm 141: 4, In
via hac qua ambulabam absconderunt laqueum mihi
11
The
Scriptural context here mentioned in the Gloss would appear to be
Herod speaking of John the Baptist.
12
Thomas appears to be conflating a passage from Aristotle’s
Nichomachean
Ethics bk.
3, ch. 12, with a passage from Proverbs
29,
which he connects together in his Sermon
1.
a.
In finem, pro occultis filii. Psalmus David. Unto
the end, for the hidden things of the Son. A psalm for David.
b.
Laetabor et exsultabo I will be glad
and rejoice
c.
in te; psallam nomini tuo, Altissime. In convertendo inimicum
meum retrorsum infirmabuntur, et peribunt a facie tua. in
thee: I will sing to thy name, O thou most high. When
my enemy shall be turned back: they shall be weakened and perish
before thy face.
d.
Quoniam fecisti judicium meum et causam meam; sedisti super
thronum, qui judicas justitiam. For
thou hast maintained my judgment and my cause: thou hast sat on
the throne, who judgest justice.
e.
Increpasti gentes, et periit impius: nomen eorum delesti in
aeternum, et in saeculum saeculi. Thou
hast rebuked the Gentiles, and the wicked one hath perished: thou
hast blotted out their name for ever and ever.
f.
Inimici defecerunt frameae in finem, et civitates eorum
destruxisti The
swords of the enemy have failed unto the end: and their cities
thou hast destroyed.
g.
Periit memoria eorum cum sonitu; et Dominus in aeternum
permanet. Paravit in judicio thronum suum, et ipse judicabit orbem
terrae in aequitate: judicabit populos in justitia. Et factus est
Dominus refugium pauperi; adjutor in opportunitatibus, in
tribulatione. Their memory
hath perished with a noise. But the Lord remaineth for ever. He
hath prepared his throne in judgment: And he shall judge the world
in equity, he shall judge the people in justice. And
the Lord is become a refuge for the poor: a helper in due time in
tribulation.
h.
Et sperent in te qui noverunt nomen tuum, quoniam non dereliquisti
quaerentes te, Domine. Psallite Domino qui habitat in Sion;
annuntiate inter gentes studia ejus: Quoniam requirens sanguinem
eorum recordatus est; non est oblitus clamorem pauperum. And let them
trust in thee who know thy name: for thou hast not forsaken them
that seek thee, O Lord. Sing ye to the Lord, who dwelleth in Sion:
declare his ways among the Gentiles. For
requiring their blood he hath remembered them: he hath not
forgotten the cry of the poor.
i.
Miserere mei, Domine: vide humilitatem meam de inimicis meis,
qui exaltas me de portis mortis, Have mercy on
me, O Lord: see my humiliation which I suffer from my enemies,
Thou that liftest me up from the gates of
death,
j.
ut annuntiem omnes laudationes tuas in portis filiae Sion. that
I may declare all thy praises in the gates of the daughter of
Sion.
k.
Exultabo in salutari tuo. Infixae sunt gentes in interitu quem
fecerunt; in laqueo isto quem absconderunt comprehensus est pes
eorum. Cognoscetur Dominus judicia faciens; in operibus manuum
suarum comprehensus est peccator. I will rejoice
in thy salvation: the Gentiles have stuck fast in the destruction
which they have prepared. Their foot hath been taken in the very
snare which they hid. The Lord shall be
known when he executeth judgments:
the sinner hath been caught in the
works of his own hands.
l.
Convertantur peccatores in infernum, omnes gentes quae
obliviscuntur Deum. The
wicked shall be turned into hell, all the nations that forget God.
m.
Quoniam non in finem oblivio
erit pauperis; patientia pauperum non peribit in finem. Exsurge,
Domine; non confortetur homo: judicentur gentes in conspectu tuo.
Constitue, Domine, legislatorem super eos, ut sciant gentes
quoniam homines sunt. Ut quid, Domine, recessisti longe;
despicis in opportunitatibus, in tribulatione? Dum superbit
impius, incenditur pauper: comprehenduntur in consiliis quibus
cogitant. For
the poor man shall not be forgotten to the end: the patience of
the poor shall not perish for ever. Arise, O Lord, let not man be
strengthened: let the Gentiles be judged in thy sight. Appoint,
O Lord, a lawgiver over them: that the Gentiles may know
themselves to be but men. Why, O
Lord, hast thou retired afar off? why dost thou slight us in our
wants, in the time of trouble? Whilst
the wicked man is proud, the poor is set on fire: they are caught
in the counsels which they devise.
n.
Quoniam laudatur peccator in desideriis animae suae, et iniquus
benedicitur. Exacerbavit Dominum peccator: secundum multitudinem
irae suae, non quaeret. For the sinner
is praised in the desires of his soul: and the unjust man is
blessed. The sinner hath provoked the Lord
according to the multitude of his wrath he will not seek him:
o.
Non est Deus in conspectu ejus; inquinatae sunt viae illius in
omni tempore. God
is not before his eyes: his ways are filthy at all times.
p.
Auferuntur judicia tua a facie ejus; omnium inimicorum suorum
dominabitur. Dixit enim in corde suo: Non movebor a generatione in
generationem, sine malo. Thy judgments
are removed from his sight: he shall rule over all his enemies.
For he hath said in his heart: I shall not
be moved from generation to generation, and shall be without evil.
q.
Cujus maledictione os plenum est, et amaritudine, et dolo; sub
lingua ejus labor et dolor. His mouth is
full of cursing, and of bitterness, and of deceit: under his
tongue are labor and sorrow.
r.
Sedet in insidiis cum divitibus in occultis, ut interficiat
innocentem. Oculi ejus in pauperem respiciunt; He
sitteth in ambush with the rich in private places, that he may
kill the innocent. His eyes are upon the poor man:
s.
insidiatur in abscondito, quasi leo in spelunca sua. Insidiatur ut
rapiat pauperem; rapere pauperem dum attrahit eum. He lieth in
wait in secret like a lion in his den. He
lieth in ambush that he may catch the poor man: to catch the poor,
whilst he draweth him to him.
t.
In laqueo suo humiliabit eum; inclinabit se, et cadet cum
dominatus fuerit pauperum. Dixit enim in corde suo: Oblitus est
Deus; avertit faciem suam, ne videat in finem. In his net he
will bring him down, he will crouch and fall, when he shall have
power over the poor. For he hath said in his
heart: God hath forgotten, he hath turned away his face not to see
to the end.
u.
Exsurge, Domine Deus, exaltetur manus tua; ne obliviscaris
pauperum. Propter quid irritavit impius Deum? dixit enim in corde
suo: Non requiret. Arise, O Lord
God, let thy hand be exalted: forget not the poor. Wherefore
hath the wicked provoked God? for he
hath said in his heart: He will not require it.
v.
Vides, quoniam tu laborem et dolorem consideras, ut tradas eos
in manus tuas. Thou
seest it, for thou considerest labor and sorrow: that thou mayst
deliver them into thy hands.
w.
Tibi derelictus est pauper; orphano tu eris adjutor. To
thee is the poor man left: thou wilt be a helper to the orphan.
x.
Contere brachium peccatoris et maligni; quaeretur peccatum illius,
et non invenietur. Dominus regnabit in aeternum, et in saeculum
saeculi; peribitis, gentes, de terra illius. Break thou the
arm of the sinner and of the malignant: his sin shall be sought,
and shall not be found. The Lord shall reign
to eternity, yea, for ever and ever: ye Gentiles shall perish from
his land.
y.
Desiderium pauperum exaudivit Dominus; praeparationem cordis
eorum audivit auris tua: judicare pupillo et humili, ut non
apponat ultra magnificare se homo super terram. The Lord hath
heard the desire of the poor: thy ear hath heard the preparation
of their heart. To judge for the fatherless
and for the humble, that man may no more presume to magnify
himself upon earth.
a.
Supra in Psalmo gratias egit pro beneficiis toti humano generi
collatis; in isto autem Psalmo specialiter gratias agit pro
beneficio sibi collato in destructione inimicorum: et hoc patet ex
titulo secundum Hieronymum, qui talis est, Victori pro morte filii
canticum David et cetera. Et tangit historiam 2 Reg. 18, et 19,
quod mortuo Absalone recuperavit regnum: et pro isto beneficio
fecit istum Psalmum. In
the preceding Psalm, the Psalmist gave thanks for benefits
conferred on the entire human
race; but in this Psalm, he gives thanks in particular for
benefits conferred on him through the destruction of his enemies:
and this appears in Jerome’s title, which is this: “To the
Victor, a song of David for the death of the son.” And he
touches on the story in 2
Kings,
18 and
19,
that when Absalom was dead, he [David] recovered the kingdom.
Sed
in nostra littera titulus occultior est. In finem pro occultis
filii Psalmus David. Occulta filii, mors filii, scilicet quia per
eam occultatur ab oculis omnium. Secundum mysterium refertur ad
Christum, qui dicitur filius antonomastice: qui est filius
naturalis Dei patris. Joan. 8: si filius vos liberaverit, vere
liberi eritis. Item filius David principaliter repromissus. Luc.
18: miserere mei, fili David. Pro occultis filii, idest Christi
quae occulta sunt. But
in our edition, the title is more cryptic, Unto
the end, for the hidden things of the Son. A psalm for David.
The hidden things of the son are the death of the son, namely
because by this he is hidden from the eyes of all. [By a sense]
referring to a mystery [of faith], it refers to Christ, who is
called the son by the trope of antonomasia,1
since he is the natural Son of God the Father. John
8: If therefore the son shall make you free, you shall be free
indeed.
And in like manner, [it refers to] the son of David
essentially promised anew. Luke
18: Son
of David, have mercy on me.
For
the hidden
things of the Son,
that is, the things that were hidden about Christ.
Duplex
est filii Dei adventus. Primus fuit occultus, quantum ad
divinitatem et ejus gloriam, quae latebat in infirmitate carnis.
Isa. 45: vere tu es Deus absconditus. Secundus erit manifestus.
Luc. 21: videbunt filium hominis venientem in nube cum potestate
magna et majestate. The
coming of the Son of God is twofold. The first was hidden, as far
as his divinity and his glory, which were concealed in the
weakness of the flesh. Isaiah
45: Verily thou art a hidden God.
The second will be manifest. Luke
21: And then they shall see the Son of man coming in a cloud, with
great power and majesty.
Item
est duplex Christi judicium. Unum occultum; et hoc est in
dispositione mundi, secundum quod permittit bonos persecutionem
pati a malis. Ps. 35: judicia tua abyssus multa. Item aliud est
manifestum in fine. 1 Cor. 4: quousque veniat dominus, qui et
illuminabit abscondita tenebrarum, et manifestabit consilia
cordium. Agitur enim de occulto judicio, secundum quod boni
afflictionem patiuntur a malis. Job 30: expectabam bona, et ecce
mala; praestolabar lucem et cetera. Et totum in idem redit: quia
gratias agit de liberatione ab inimicis. Likewise,
Christ’s judgement is twofold. One judgement is hidden, and this
is in the arrangement and ordering of the world, according to
which He allows the good to suffer persecution from the evil.
Psalm
35: Thy judgments are a great deep.
Likewise, the other will be manifest in the end. 1
Corinthians 4: Until the Lord come, who both will bring to light
the hidden things of darkness, and will make manifest the counsels
of the hearts.
For the matter of the hidden judgement, according to which the
good suffer persecution from the evil, is being discussed. Job
30: I expected good things, and evils are come upon me: I waited
for light, and darkness broke out.
And all of this goes back to the same matter: for he gives thanks
for his liberation from his enemies.
Dividitur
autem iste Psalmus in duas partes. Primo ponit gratiarum actionem;
secundo materiam gratiarum actionum, ibi, in convertendo. Gratias
agit tripliciter: corde, ore et opere. Ore dupliciter: laudando et
praedicando. This
Psalm is divided then into two parts. First he sets down his
thanksgiving, second the matter for which he gives thanks, at When
my enemy shall be turned back.
He gives thanks in three ways: in heart, in word, and in deed. Two
ways in word: by praising and by preaching.
Laudando,
quia dicit, confitebor. Est autem triplex confessio: scilicet
fidei: Rom. 10: confessio fit ad salutem. Psal. 31: dixi,
confitebor et cetera. Peccatorum. Jac. ult.: confitemini
alterutrum peccata vestra. Laudis (Tob. 12): coram omnibus
viventibus confitemini ei et cetera. Praising,
where he says, I
will give praise
[ confess].
And confession is threefold, namely of faith — Romans
10: Confession is made unto salvation.
Psalm
31: I said I will confess; of
sinners — James
5: Confess therefore your sins one to another;
and of praise — Tobit
12: Give glory to him in the sight of all that live.
Et
de hac confessione agitur hic. O domine confitebor tibi, idest
gratias agam, idest laudabo te. Psal. 68: laudabo nomen Dei mei et
cetera. Haec in corde: quia 1 Reg. 16: homines vident quae
apparent, Deus autem intuetur cor. Contra quod Isa. 29, et Marc.
7: populus hic labiis me honorat, cor autem eorum longe est a me.
Sed dicit, in toto, quia Deus est major corde nostro. 1 Joan. 3.
Et ideo, quantumcumque laudemus secundum posse nostrum, minus est
ipso. Deut. 6: diliges dominum Deum tuum ex toto corde tuo. And
here he discusses this kind of confession. I
will give praise [confess] to thee, O Lord,
that is,
I will give thanks, that is, I will praise you. Psalm
68: I will praise the name of God.
This confession
is in his heart, since 1
Kings 16: For man seeth those things that appear, but the Lord
beholdeth the heart.
This is against what is in Isaiah
29 and
Mark
7: This people...with their lips glorify me. But
he says With
my whole heart,
because God
is greater than our heart, 1 John 3.
And however so much we should praise Him in accordance with our
ability, it remains less than God Himself. Deuteronomy
6: Thou shalt love the Lord thy God with thy whole heart.
Qui
ergo non totum cor dat Deo, sed aliquid aliud vult habere simul
cum ipso, perdit eum. Isa. 28: angustatum est stratum, ita ut
alter decidat: et pallium breve est, et utrumque operire non
potest. Ille ergo toto corde laudat eum, qui nihil acceptat contra
Deum, sed totum in eum actu vel habitu refert. Tob. 12: opera Dei
revelare et confiteri (scilicet annuntiando) honorificum est. Therefore,
whoever does not give his entire heart to God, but wants to have
something else at the same time as Him, loses Him. Isaiah
28: For the bed is straitened, so that one must fall out,
and a short covering cannot cover both.2
He, therefore praises God with his whole heart who accepts nothing
which is against God, but who puts everything in relation to Him,
whether through act or by habit. Tobias 12: Honorable
to reveal and confess
(namely by declaring) the
works of God.
Narrabo,
praedicando et annunciando, aliis, quia Deus dat beneficia aliis
communicanda: et hoc bene fit aliis enunciando. Luc. 8: vade et
annuncia quanta fecerit tibi Deus: et ideo dicit, narrabo
mirabilia tua. Sed rationem habet quod dicit, mirabilia, quia
opera Dei mirabilia sunt. Psal. 76: tu es Deus, qui facis
mirabilia. By
preaching and by announcing I
will relate,
to others, that God gives benefits to be communicated to others;
and he does this well by announcing to others. Luke
8: Return to thy house, and tell how great things God hath done to
thee.
And so he says,
I will relate all thy wonders.
But he has a reason for saying, Wonders,
for God’s works are wonders. Psalm
76: Thou art the God that dost wonders.
Sed
quid est quod dicit, omnia? Hoc videtur impossibile. Job 5: qui
facit magna et inscrutabilia mirabilia et absque numero. Quomodo
ergo dicit, omnia? Dicendum, quod omnia secundum genus, vel omnia
quaecumque narrat, omnia sunt mirabilia: vel omnia quia intentio
narrantis non debet sistere in aliquo, sed procedere quantum
potest. Hilarius in Lib. de Trin.: qui pie infinita prosequitur,
etsi nunquam perveniet, proficiet in prodeundo. Eccl. 43:
glorificantes Deum quantum potestis, supervalebit adhuc, et
admirabilis majestas ejus: et 42: nonne fecit Deus sanctos suos
enarrare mirabilia? But
why does he say, All?
This appears impossible. Job
5: Who doth great things and unsearchable and wonderful things
without number.
In what way therefore does he say All?
We should say, that “all” things according to their genus, or
“all” things whatsoever he relates, are wonders. Or, “all”
because the intention of the narrator should not stick to one
matter
only, but proceed as far as it can. Hilary says
in the De
Trinitate:
“For He who devoutly treads
an endless road, though he reach no conclusion, will profit by his
exertions.”3
Sirach
43:Glorify the Lord as much as ever you can, for he will yet far
exceed, and his magnificence is wonderful,
and 42:
Hath not the
Lord made the saints to declare all his wonderful works.
b.
Laetabor. Hic gratias agit quantum ad cor. Aliqui narrant aliis
bona sua, et gaudent de se, sicut peccatores. Luc. 18, de
Pharisaeo, qui dicebat: gratias tibi ago, quia non sum et cetera.
Sed hic gaudet in Deo semper. Eccl. 35: in omni dato hilarem fac
vultum tuum, et in exultatione sanctifica decimas tuas. Laetabor,
interius in corde, et exultabo in te, exiliens ad exteriorem
laetitiam. Habac. 3: ego autem in domino gaudebo, et exultabo in
Deo Jesu meo. Psallam. I
will be glad.
Here he gives thanks with his heart. Some people, sinners for
instance, tell others about their goods and delight in them. Luke
18,
about the Pharisee, who said,
O God, I give thee thanks that I am not,
etc. But this man delights in God always.
Sirach 51: In every gift show a cheerful countenance, and sanctify
thy tithes with joy.
I
will be glad,
inwardly in the heart, and
rejoice,
leaping up in joy externally. Habakuk
3: But I will rejoice in the Lord: and I will joy in God my Jesus.
Hic
gratias agit quantum ad opus: psallere enim est opus manuale, et
per hoc intelligitur bona operatio: quia omnia opera nostra ad
gloriam Dei terminari debent. Matth. 5: sic luceat lux vestra et
cetera. Ps. 145: psallam Deo meo, quamdiu fuero. Sed addit, nomini
tuo, altissime; quasi dicat: Deus non proficit ex hoc quod
confitebor et psallam tibi, quia nomen tuum altissimum est, sed
nobis proficit. Psal. 34: oratio mea in sinu meo convertetur. Job
35: si juste egeris, quid donabis ei, aut quid de manu tua
accipiet? Job 22: quid prodest Deo si justus fueris, aut quid ei
conferes si immaculata fuerit via tua? I
will sing.
Here he gives thanks though his works: to sing the psalms is a
manual labor,4
and by this is understood a good work. For, all of our works ought
to have as their end God’s glory. Matthew
5: So let your light shine before men. Psalm
145: I will sing to my God as long as I shall be. But
he adds, To
thy name, O thou most high;
as if to say: “You (God) do not gain anything by the fact that I
will give praise to thee
and I
will sing
to you, since your name is Most High. But we gain something.”
Psalm
34: My prayer shall be turned into my bosom.
Job
35: And if thou do justly, what shalt thou give him, or what shall
he receive of thy hand?
Job
22: What doth it profit God if thou be just? or
what dost thou give him if thy way be unspotted?
c.
In. Hic ponitur materia gratiarum actionis. Primo in speciali
pro se, secundo in generali, convertantur. Circa primum tria
facit. Primo proponit factum; secundo auctoritatem facientis
laudat, ibi, dominus in aeternum permanet. Tertio subdit fructum,
ibi, sperent in te. Duo proponit: factum, et facti justitiam.
Secundum, ibi, quoniam fecisti. In
thee.
Here he sets down the matter about which he gives thanks, first in
particular and on his own account, second in general at, Shall
be turned back.
With respect to the first he does three things. First, he sets
forth what was done. Second, he praises the authority of the one
doing it, at The
Lord remaineth for ever.
Third he adds the fruit, at, And
let them trust in thee.
[With respect to the first of these] he sets forth two things: the
thing done, and the justice of the thing done, the second, at, For
thou hast maintained.
Factum
est destructio inimici, in qua dicit tria: quia si aliquis
destruitur, primo deficit a proposito: et quantum ad hoc dicit, in
convertendo inimicum meum retrorsum, supple in hoc, confitebor,
idest dabo gratias Deo. Tunc convertitur inimicus retrorsum,
quando deficit ab eo quod proponit. Ps. 69: avertantur retrorsum
et erubescant, qui cogitant mihi mala. What
has been done is the destruction of the enemy, by which he says
three things: For first, if someone is destroyed, he fails in his
plan. And, he says with respect to this, When
my enemy shall be turned back,
complete what
I will give praise to,
that is, that I will give thanks
to God. An enemy is turned back when he fails to do what he
planned. Psalm
69: Let them be turned backward, and blush for shame that desire
evils to me.
Secundo
debilitatur ejus virtus: et quantum ad hoc dicit, infirmabuntur,
scilicet in sua potestate. Hier. 20: dominus mecum est tamquam
bellator fortis: idcirco qui persequuntur me cadent, et infirmi
erunt. Tertio pereunt ipsi ideo dicit, peribunt, vel desinendo
impietatem: et hoc, a facie tua, idest cognitione, vel
condemnatione tua. Second,
[if someone is destroyed] his strength is enfeebled: and with
respect to this he says They
shall be weakened,
namely in their power. Jeremiah
20: But the Lord is with me as a strong warrior.
Third, they themselves perish, whence he says, They
shall...perish,
either by ceasing their impiety, and this, Before
thy face,
i.e. beknownst to You, or by your condemnation.
Vel,
peribunt, te vindicante et sententiante eorum malitiam. Vel
peribunt a facie tua, quia te videre non poterunt. Isa. 26,
secundum aliam translationem: tollatur impius ne videat gloriam
Dei. Or,
They
shall...perish,
by you passing judgement and imposing retribution for their
wickedness. Alternately, They
shall...perish before [from]
thy
face,
because they will not be able to see you. According to another
Latin translation, Isaiah
26: [Let the wicked be removed, so that] he shall not see the
glory of the Lord.
d.
Hic ponit justitiam facti. Primo ex parte sua cum dicit, Quoniam
fecisti. Aliquando quis habet justitiam, non tamen habet judicem
qui faciat eam. Aliquando habet judicem, sed non testem vel
advocatum; sed iste habens justitiam invenit judicem; et ideo
dicit, quoniam fecisti judicium meum, idest dedisti, et causam
meam, idest testis meus. Hier. 29: ego sum testis et judex, dicit
dominus. Deus enim est judex et testis: inquantum judex, facit
judicium; inquantum testis, causas defendit. Here
he sets out the justice of what was done. First, on his own
account when he says,
For thou hast maintained.
Sometimes one is in the right,
but one lacks a judge who would render justice.
Other times, one has a judge, but not a witness
or an advocate; but this man who is in the right finds a judge;
and so he says, For
thou hast maintained my judgment,
that is, you rendered it. And
my cause,
i.e. [You have been] my witness. Jeremias
29: I am the judge and the witness, saith the Lord. For
God is a judge and a witness. Insofar as judge, he renders
judgement, and as witness, he defends causes.
Secundo
ponit justitiam facti ex parte judicis: et dicit de Deo
auctoritatem judicandi: sedisti super thronum, qui sedes judicis
est, idest habes regiam potestatem ad destruendum malum. Prov. 20:
rex qui sedet in solio, intuitu suo dissipat omne malum. Item
habes amorem justitiae; ideo dicit, qui judicas justitiam. Hier.
11: tu autem domine Sabaoth qui judicas etc. quasi dicat: tibi
proprium est hoc. Ps. 10: justus dominus, et justitias dilexit.
Isa. 63: ego qui loquor justitiam, et propugnator sum ad
salvandum. Second
he sets out the justice of what was done on the judge’s part;
and he speaks of God having authority for judgement, Thou
hast sat on the throne,
which is the seat of judgement, that is, You have royal power for
the destruction of evil. Proverbs
20: The king, that sitteth on the throne of judgment, scattereth
away all evil with his look.
Also, You have a love of justice; whence he says, Who
judgest justice.
Jeremias
11: But thou, O Lord of Sabaoth, who judgest justly,
etc., as if to say: this is proper to you. Psalm
10: For the Lord is just, and hath loved justice. Isaiah
63: I, that speak justice, and am a defender to save.
Vel
si hoc ad Christum referatur, quoniam fecisti et cetera. Christus
judicatus fuit et causam habuit. Job 36: causa tua quasi impii
judicata est. Sed fuit causa sua, quia pervenit ad gloriam suam.
Sedes, scilicet Deus pater, super thronum, idest animam Christi.
Vel Christus ad dexteram Dei patris sedet: caetera adapta ut vis. Or
if this refers to Christ, For
thou hast maintained,
etc. Christ both had the office of judge, and had a cause. Job
36: Thy cause hath been judged as that of the wicked. But
it was his own cause [He judged], through which he came into his
glory.5
Thou
hast sat,
namely God
the Father, On
the throne,
i.e, Christ’s soul. Or, Christ sits at the right hand of the
Father. Make the other expressions fit as you wish.
e.
Increpasti. Supra ostendit Psalmista judicium factum ex parte sua,
quia in hoc est factum sibi judicium debitum, et ex parte judicis;
hic ostendit judicium sive justitiam factam sibi ex parte
vindicatorum. Et primo ponit ipsam justitiam. Secundo exponit,
ibi, inimici defecerunt. Dominus puniens malos, tria per ordinem
facit in eis. Thou
hast rebuked.
Above the Psalmist indicated the judgement made on his part,
because in this the judgement that was due to him was rendered,
and this on the part of the judge; here he indicates the
judgement, or justice, rendered for him on the part of those
vindicated.
And first he sets down this justice. Second,
he explains it, at Of
the enemy have failed.
God while punishing evil people does three things in [an] order to
them.
Primo
quia non statim procedit ad ultimam poenam; sed primo reprehendit;
secundo, nisi corrigantur punit; tertio exterminat. Quantum ad
primum dicit, increpasti, per praedicatores. Isa. 58: annuntia
populo meo scelera eorum, et domui Jacob peccata eorum. 2 Tit. 4:
argue, obsecra, increpa in omni patientia et doctrina. First,
he does not proceed immediately to the ultimate punishment; but
first, he reprimands them. Second, if they are not corrected, he
punishes them. Third, he wipes them out. Regarding the first, he
says, Thou
hast rebuked,
by those who preach. Isaiah
58: Show my people their wicked doings, and the house of Jacob
their sins. 2 Timothy 4: reprove, entreat, rebuke in all patience
and doctrine.
Item
per tribulationes. Job 33: increpat quoque per dolorem in lecto,
et ossa illius marcescere facit; et quantum ad hoc dicit, periit
impius, vel Absalon, vel Diabolus, Job 4: quia nullus intelligit,
in aeternum peribunt. Likewise
by tribulations. Job
33: He rebuketh also by sorrow in the bed, and he maketh all his
bones to wither,
and regarding this he says the impious hath
perished,6
either Absalom or the Devil. Job
4: Because no one understandeth, they shall perish for ever.
Increpasti
gentes, scilicet deceptas, et impius, concitans, periit, quia tota
multitudo rebellavit; sed non est destructa, quia fuit seducta.
Quantum ad tertium dicit, nomen eorum delesti, quod impii
perpetuare nituntur; sed ipsi in perpetuum non inveniuntur. Thou
hast rebuked the Gentiles,
that is, the peoples who have been deceived, and
the wicked one,
the one
provoking them, hath perished,
since the entire multitude rebelled. But it has not been
destroyed, because it was led astray. As to the third, he says,
Thou hast blotted out their name, which the impious [wish] to have
shine forever. But for all time these people will no longer be
discovered.
Contra:
nomen Judae est in memoria. Dicendum, quod homines non intendunt
nomen magnificare in malo, sed in bono; sed nomen Judae manet in
malo. Prov. 10: nomen impiorum putrescit. Hieronymus dicit quod
quidam ignotus, ut in memoria esset, combussit templum; et sic in
malo remanet nomen malorum. To
the contrary: the name of Judas remains in memory. We should say
here that human beings do not intend to make their name great
through evil, but through good; but Judas’ name remains through
evil. Proverbs
10: The name of the wicked shall rot.
Jerome says that someone unknown, so that he might remain in
memory, burned down the temple; and so the name of evil people
remains in [their] evil.
f.
Inimici. Hic exponit quomodo periit: et duo facit. Primo
assignat causam quare periit. Secundo modum, ibi, periit memoria.
Causa quare periit, est, quia periit illud unde sibi voluit facere
nomen. Quandoque scilicet aliqui faciunt sibi nomen ex potentia
militari et bellorum: unde Gen. 6: hi sunt potentes a saeculo viri
famosi. Aliquando aedificando civitatem: Eccl. 40: aedificatio
civitatis confirmabit nomen, et super hanc mulier immaculata
computabitur: sicut nomen Romuli per Romam; sed dominus destruxit
utrumque. Of
the enemy.
Here he explains the way in which the enemy perishes: and he does
two things. First, he assigns the cause by which the enemy
perishes. Second, the way, at Their
memory
hath perished.
The cause by which he perishes
is that the thing from which he wanted to
make a name for himself perishes. For sometimes a person makes a
name for himself from his military power and his wars: whence,
Genesis
6: These are the mighty men of old, men of renown.
Other times, by building a city or state. Sirach
40: Children, and the building of a city shall establish a name,
but a blameless wife shall be counted above them both,
just as the name of Romulus by Rome; but the Lord destroyed both.
Frameae,
scilicet gladii, inimici, scilicet hominis, defecerunt in finem:
Psal. 75: ibi confregit potentias. Civitates eorum destruxisti:
Isa. 1: terra vestra deserta, civitates vestrae succensae igni.
Hic inimicus specialiter Diabolus: Matth. 13: inimicus homo hoc
fecit. Framea ejus, tentationes. Civitates, mala consilia, quibus
utitur ad pervertendum bonos. The
swords of the enemy,
namely, of man, have
failed unto the end. Psalm 75: There hath he broken the powers.
Their
cities thou hast destroyed.
Isaiah
1: Your land is desolate, your cities are burnt with fire.
Here the enemy is the Devil in particular. Matthew
13: An enemy hath done this.
His
Swords,
temptations.
Cities,
evil counsels, which he uses to pervert good people.
g.
Periit. Hic ponitur modus quo periit: dupliciter exponitur hoc.
Periit, idest simul pereunt memoria et sonitus eorum. Mali sonitum
faciunt concutiendo regna, destruunt civitates: Ezech. 31: omnes
traditi sunt in mortem ad terram ultimam in medio filiorum hominum
ad eos qui descendunt in lacum. Hath
perished.
Here the way in which the enemy has perished is set down. This is
explained in two ways. Hath
perished,
that is, their memory and their din have perished at the same
time. Evil people create din when they are violently disrupting
kingdoms, and they destroy cities. Ezechiel
31: For they are all delivered unto death to the lowest parts of
the earth, in the midst of the children of men, with them that go
down into the pit.
Vel
impii, quando quis malus homo destruitur, sed non sine magno
tumultu: quia oportet aliquam tribulationem pati: ut patet Matth.
9, quando diabolus exivit clamans et multum discerpens. Or
secondly, of someone impious, when some evil man is destroyed, but
not without great uproar, for it is right that he should suffer
some sort of tribulation: as appears in
Matthew 9,
when the devil went out crying out and violently convulsing [the
possessed man].7
Littera
Hieronymi habet, periit memoria cum impiis, quia nihil boni
fecerunt unde memoria eorum maneret in bono: Eccl. 6: frustra
venit, et pergit ad tenebras, et oblivione delebitur nomen ejus. Jerome’s
version has Their
memory hath perished with the impious,
because they did no good things from which their memory might
remain in goodness. Ecclesiastes
6: For he came
in vain, and goeth to darkness, and his name shall be wholly
forgotten.
Et
dominus in aeternum permanet. Hic ponit auctoritatem facientis; et
tangit sex conditiones circa judicium Dei. Primo quod non est
momentaneum, sed aeternum. Aliorum potentatus, vita brevis: ideo
Psalmista dicit, dominus in aeternum permanet. Hieronymus: sedet
quasi ad judicium dominus. But
the Lord remaineth for ever.
Here he sets down
the authority of the one making the judgement; and he touches on
six conditions about God’s judgement. First, that it is not of a
single moment, but for eternity. The supremacy of others, like
life, is short: so, the Psalmist says But
the Lord remaineth for ever.
Jerome’s version has: “The Lord sits as if to render
judgement.”
Item
dicit quod semper promptum est, aliorum non sic est: unde dicit,
paravit in judicio thronum suum, idest paratum habet: Isa. 3: stat
ad judicandum dominus, stat ad judicandos populos. Second,
he says that it is always prompt, whereas the judgement of others
is not so, whence he says, He
hath prepared his throne in judgment,
i.e. he has it ready. Isaiah
3: The Lord standeth up to judge, and he standeth to judge the
people.
Item
dicit quod est universale; unde dicit, judicabit orbem terrae, et
non solum Judaeos, Gen. 18: absit a te domine ut perdas justum cum
impio. Third,
he says that it is universal; whence he says, He
shall judge the world,
and not only the Jews. Genesis
18: Far be it from thee to do this thing, and to slay the just
with the wicked.
Item,
quod est justum; unde dicit in aequitate, judicabit populos in
justitia. Duo dicit: scilicet aequitatem et justitiam: quia
justitia importat executionem eorum quae sunt secundum se justa,
quae non sunt justa in aliquo casu: quia regulae et numerus sunt
circa contingentia, nec possunt adaptari ad singula particularia,
sed in aliquo casu intermittuntur: sicut sunt quaedam regulae, et
numerus, et conclusiones, quae in casu propter aliquid non
servantur. Applicatio autem horum principiorum universalium ad
facta particularia pertinet ad aequitatem. Hieronymus dicit,
judicabit populos in aequitate, quia ad singularia est aequitas,
quae quodammodo restringit et regulat justitiam. Fourth,
that it is just, whence he says He
shall judge the people in justice
[equity].
He uses two words, namely, justice and equity. For, justice brings
about the performance of those things that are just in their own
right, things that are not simply just in some particular case.
For since rule and number pertain to contingent things, rule and
number cannot be adapted to particular singular things, but are
neglected or ignored in some particular case, just as there are
certain rules, numbers and conclusions which
in a particular case, in relation to some [singular] thing, do not
hold. The application of these universal principles to particular
deeds pertains to equity. Jerome’s version says, He
shall judge the people in equity,
because equity extends to singulars, and in a certain way
restricts and regulates justice.
Item
dicit quod est misericordia plenum. Hoc commendatur ex persona cui
fit misericordia, puta si facis indigenti: Luc. 14: cum facis
prandium aut coenam, noli vocare amicos tuos aut cognatos, neque
vicinos divites et cetera. Job 30: flebam quondam super eo qui
afflictus erat, et compatiebatur anima mea pauperi. Et ideo dicit,
factus est dominus refugium pauperi, scilicet oppresso: Isa. 1:
subvenite oppresso, judicate pupillo, defendite viduam: Ps. 81:
judicate egeno et pupillo, et humilem et pauperem justificate; et
hoc verum est ubi habent justitiam: Lev. 19: non injuste
judicabis; neque consideres personam pauperis, et non honores
vultum potentis. Fifth,
he says that it is full of mercy. This is commended [to one] on
account of the person to whom mercy is shown, e.g. if you do
something for a needy person. Luke
14: When thou makest a dinner or a supper, call not thy friends,
nor thy brethren, nor thy kinsmen, nor thy neighbors who are rich,
etc. Job
30: I wept heretofore
for him that was afflicted, and my soul
had compassion on the poor.
And so he says, The
Lord is become a refuge for the poor,
namely, from the oppressor. Isaiah
1: Relieve the oppressed, judge for the fatherless, defend the
widow.
Psalm
81: Judge for the needy and fatherless: do justice to the humble
and the poor.
And this is indeed the case where they have justice. Leviticus
19: Nor judge unjustly. Respect not the person of the poor, nor
honor the countenance of the mighty.
Item
ex tempore, quia scilicet tempore quando indigent, est accepta
misericordia ejus: Eccl. 35: speciosa est misericordia Dei in
tempore tribulationis, quasi nubes pluviae in tempore siccitatis.
Et ideo dicit: adjutor in tribulatione: et addit in
opportunitatibus, quia tempore tribulationis homines convertuntur
ad Deum, et tunc est eis praedicandum. Et possunt haec de Christo
exponi. Dominus in aeternum permanet, quia Jesus Christus heri et
hodie, Hebr. 13. Paravit judicium, quia sedet in throno suo
judicans, et ipse judicabit orbem terrae in aequitate: Isai. 59:
indutus est justitia ut lorica, et galea salutis in capite ejus. Sixth,
he says that it is timely, because at the time that somebody is in
need, they accept his mercy. Sirach
35: The mercy of God is beautiful in the time of affliction, as a
cloud of rain in the time of drought.
And so he says, A
helper... in tribulation,
and he adds, in
due time,
because in the time of tribulation, people are converted to God,
and at that time, this ought
to be preached to them. And these six conditions can be
interpreted as pertaining to Christ. The
Lord remaineth for ever,
because Jesus
Christ, yesterday, and today, Hebrews 13. He
hath prepared his throne in judgment,
because he sits judging on his throne, And
he shall judge the world in equity.
Isaiah
59: He put on justice as a breastplate, and a helmet of salvation
upon his head.
h.
Et sperent. Supra Psalmista posuit factum de quo gratias egit,
et auctoritatem facientis; hic ponit fructum facti. Et primo
quantum ad alios: secundo quantum ad se, ibi, miserere mei domine,
vide et cetera. Primo ponit triplicem fructum in alios. Primus est
notitia, vel fiducia nominis Dei. Secundus spiritualis, laetitia
diligentium eum. Tertius denunciatio nominis ejus. Secundum, ibi,
psallite. Tertium, ibi, annunciate. And
let them trust.
Earlier, the Psalmist set down the deed for which he gives thanks,
and the authority of the doer; here, he sets down the deed’s
fruit. And first, with respect to other people. Second with
respect to himself, at Have
mercy on me, O Lord: see,
etc. First he sets down a threefold fruit to other people. The
first is the knowledge of, or trust in, God’s name. The second
is a spiritual fruit, the joy of those who love Him. Third, the
declaration of His name. The second at Sing
ye. The
third at
Declare.
Hos
fructus inducit per modum exhortationis: et circa hoc tria facit.
Primo inducit ad sperandum. Secundo ostendit quibus convenit
sperare. Et tertio quare. Dicit ergo, et sperent in te: Eccl. 2:
qui timetis dominum, sperate in illum. Sed unde venit? Quia
Noverunt nomen tuum. He
calls attention to these fruits through the mode of exhortation:
and he does three things regarding them. First he calls to mind
what is hoped for. Second, he indicates those for whom it is
befitting to hope. And third, for what reason.
Therefore he says And
let them trust in thee.
Sirach
2: Ye that fear the Lord, hope in him.
But, whence comes this hope? Because [They]
know thy name.
Ex
duobus enim spes consurgit; quod sit potens: et hoc patet, quia
dominus nomen illi; et quod sit volens, quia summe bonus: unde
Luc. 18: nemo bonus nisi solus Deus. Et praecipue hoc nomen Jesus:
Matth. 1: ipse salvum faciet populum suum et cetera. Philip. 2: in
nomine Jesu omne genuflectatur. Hope
wells up for two reasons: that He is able, and this is evident
because the Lord is his name; and that He is willing, because He
is the greatest
good. Whence Luke
18: None is good but God alone.
And especially the name Jesus. Matthew
1: He shall save his people from their sins.
Philippians
2: That in the name of Jesus every knee should bow.
Et
quare? Quia non derelinquis quaerentes te: Sap. 1: invenitur ab
his qui non tentant illum; apparet autem eis qui fidem habent in
illum, scilicet qui quaerunt eum bona intentione: quia mali non
inveniunt eum: Joan. 7: quaeretis me, et non invenietis. Item ubi
est, quia non inter cognatos et notos, Luc. 2, Job 28: nec
invenitur in terra suaviter viventium. And
why does this occur? Because thou
hast not forsaken them that seek thee.
Wisdom
1: For he is found by them that tempt him not: and he sheweth
himself to them that have faith in him,
namely, those who seek Him with a good intention, for evil people
will not find Him. John
7: You shall seek me, and shall not find me. Likewise,
[those who seek Him] where He is, because he is not Among
their kinsfolks
and acquaintances, Luke 2. Job 28: Neither is it found in the land
of them that live in delights.
Secundo
inducit ad secundum fructum, scilicet ad laetitiam. Psallite
domino qui habitat in Sion. Dominus dicitur habitare in loco non
corporaliter: 2 Reg. 6: David posuit arcam in Sion; sed secundum
veritatem habitat in Ecclesia. Sion interpretatur specula, et in
Ecclesia speculamur aeterna. Isti ergo debemus psallere, idest
gaudere corde et ore et operibus, pro beneficiis datis. Second,
he calls attention to the second fruit, namely, to joy. Sing
ye to the Lord, who dwelleth in Sion.
The Lord is spoken of as dwelling in a place but not bodily. 2
Kings 6: David set
the arc of the covenant in Zion;
but in truth, He dwells in the Church. Zion is interpreted as a
watch-tower, and in the Church, we watch eternal things. Thus, we
must sing psalms to Him, that is, to rejoice in heart and word and
deed, for the benefits bestowed.
Tertio
inducit ad tertium fructum, annuntiate. 1 Pet. 4: unusquisque
prout accepit gratiam in alterutrum illam administrantes. Et ideo
primo inducit quod debeant annuntiare. Gregorius: ille uberes
fructus suae praedicationis colligit, qui semina bonae operationis
praemittit. Inter gentes, idest inter gentiliter viventes, idest
inter peccatores: Isa. 21: occurrentes sitienti ferte aquam.
Studia, idest curam ejus sive solicitudinem de salute humani
generis: Hier. 29: ego cogito cogitationes pacis. Third,
he calls attention to the third fruit, at, Declare.
1
Peter 4: As every man hath received grace, ministering the same
one to another.
And first he indicates what they should declare. Gregory writes:
“He harvests the rich fruits of his preachings, who sends out
the seeds of good work.” Among
the Gentiles,
that is,
among those living as Gentiles, that is, sinners. Isaiah
21: Meeting the thirsty bring him
water.8
His
ways,
that is, His care or solicitude
for the salvation of the human race. Jeremiah
29: I think towards you, saith the Lord, thoughts of peace.
Secundo
haec studia exponit ibi, quoniam requirens et cetera. Illud quod
aliquis cum studio et diligentia facit, non obliviscitur quin
illud faciat; Deus autem studiosus est ad salutem hominum: et ideo
non obliviscitur. Duo faciunt oblivionem: scilicet mors: Ps. 30:
oblivioni datus sum tamquam mortuus a corde, item paupertas: Prov.
19: fratres hominis pauperis oderunt eum: Apoc. 6: quare non
vindicas et cetera. In
reference to His
ways,
he explains at, For
requiring,
etc. What someone does with care and diligence, he will not forget
that he indeed does it. But God is most solicitous of human
salvation, and so will not forget it. Two things cause
forgetfulness: namely, death. Psalm
30: I am
forgotten as one dead from the heart. And,
poverty. Proverbs
19: [Riches
make many friends: but from the poor man, even they whom he had,
depart]
The brethren of the poor man hate him.
Revelations
6: How long, O Lord (holy and true) dost thou not judge and
revenge our blood.
Sed
Deus non obliviscitur mortuorum? Quoniam requirens sanguinem
eorum, scilicet te quaerentium; etiamsi contingat eos occidi; et
hoc judicando. Vel requiret sanctorum sanguinem, in resurrectione
reparando illum: Sap. 5: ecce quomodo computati sunt et cetera.
Dicitur autem recordatus, non quod sit oblitus, sed quia videtur
oblitus propter dilationem. But
God does not forget the dead, [does he]? For
requiring their blood,
namely, of
Them that seek thee,
even if they are killed. And he does this through judging. Or,
requiring
the
blood of the saints, by giving them it back in the Resurrection.
Wisdom
5: Behold how they are
numbered,
etc. But He is said to
[Have]
remembered,
not that he has forgotten, but because He seems to have forgotten
because of delay in time.
Item
non obliviscitur pauperum et parvorum: unde, non est oblitus
clamorem pauperum: Ps. 33: iste pauper clamavit, vel in periculis,
vel in oratione: Jac. 5: clamor eorum et cetera. Ps. 22: non
sprevit neque despexit deprecationem pauperis: Ex. 3: videns vidi
afflictionem populi mei qui est in Aegypto, et descendi liberare
eum. Also,
He does not forget the poor or the little ones, whence, He
hath not forgotten the cry of the poor.
Psalm
33: This poor man cried,
whether in danger or whether in prayer. James
5:
The cry of them hath entered into the ears of the Lord of Sabaoth.
Exodus
3: I have seen the affliction of my people in Egypt...I am come
down to deliver them out of the hands of the Egyptians.
i.
Miserere. Hic ponit fructum quantum ad se. Et primo commemorat
beneficium. Secundo ponit fructum, ibi, ut annuntiem et cetera.
Beneficium duplex: unum futurum: aliud habitum. Have
mercy.
Here he sets down the fruit with respect to himself. And first, he
brings to mind the benefit. Second, he sets down the fruit, at
That
I may declare,
etc. And the benefit is twofold, one future, the other one already
possessed.
Qui
exaltas et cetera. Primo duo facit. Primo ponit misericordiam.
Secundo misericordiae motivum. Futurum beneficium est
misericordia. Miserere mei: Ps. 32: misericordia domini plena est
terra. Motivum ad eam, consideratio Dei. Thou
that liftest,
etc. First he does two things. First
he sets down [God’s] mercy. Second, the motivation
for the mercy. The future benefit is His mercy. Have
mercy on me.
Psalm
32: The earth is full of the mercy of the Lord.
And the motivation for this mercy is God’s consideration [of
matters].
Vide,
idest considera, humilitatem meam. Haec humilitas non importat
virtutem, sicut illud, si non humiliter sentiebam (Psalm 130), sed
dejectionem. Unde Hieronymus habet afflictionem de inimicis meis,
quia scilicet affligunt. Vel aliter: vide humilitatem, quia
humilibus dat gratiam, Jac. 4. Sed hoc potest considerare ex
consideratione inimicorum, qui sunt superbi et mali. See,
that is, consider, my
humiliation.
This humility does not concern the virtue of humility, as in this
passage: If
I was not humbly minded
(Psalm 130), but rather being [humbled by being] defeated. Whence
Jerome has “affliction from my enemies,” because precisely
they afflict. Or, interpreted another way, See
my humiliation,
because God...giveth
grace
to the humble, James 4.
But this can be considered by taking into account the enemies, who
are proud and evil people.
Consequenter
confitetur beneficium habitum: qui exaltas me etc.: quasi dicat:
de tanto periculo eruisti me, quod non restabat nisi ut morerer:
Hier. 9: ascendit mors per fenestras nostras; ingressa est domos
nostras disperdere parvulos deforis. After
that, he acknowledges the benefits he has possessed:
Thou that liftest me up,
etc. As if to say: “You raised me from such a danger that, were
it to have remained I would have died. Jeremiah
9: For death is come up through our windows,
it is entered into our houses to destroy the children from
without.
Spiritualiter
autem portae mortis sunt haeretici: Matth. 16: portae Inferi non
praevalebunt adversum eam. Et sensus hominis: Hier. 9: mors
introivit per fenestras. Odium verbi Dei: Ps. 106: omnem escam
abominata est anima eorum, et appropinquaverunt usque ad portas
mortis. Tentationes et vitia: Sap. 16: deducis ad portas mortis,
et reducis. Qui ergo liberatur ab istis, dicat, exaltas me, idest
liberasti me de portis mortis. In
a spiritual sense, the gates of death are heretics. Matthew
16: And the gates of hell shall not prevail against it. And,
human senses. Jeremiah
9: Death is come up through our windows.
[And]
hatred of the Word of God. Psalm
106: Their soul abhorred all manner of meat: and they drew nigh
even to the gates of death.
Temptations and vices. Wisdom
16: Thou...leadest down to the gates of death, and bringest back
again.
So, a person who is freed from these things would say Thou
liftest me up,
that is, you have freed me from the gates of death.
j.
Consequenter cum dicit, ut ponit fructum; sed ordine retrogrado.
Primo annuntiationis. Secundo exultationis, ibi, exultabo. Tertio
cognitionis, ibi, cognoscetur. Dico quod misertus es, et peto quod
miserearis; et hoc ut annuntiem praedicationes. Consequently,
when he says That,
he sets down the fruit, but in reverse order. First, [he sets down
the fruit of] the declaration. Second the rejoicing, at, I
will rejoice.
Third, the knowledge, at Shall
be known.
I say that You were merciful, and I ask why You should have been
merciful, and this is so that
I may declare all
thy praises.
Antiquitus
judicia fiebant in portis; et ideo dicit, in portis filiae Sion,
idest Hierusalem, quia subjecta erat arci quae vocabatur Sion;
quasi dicat: in multitudine populi Hierosolymitani, annuntiem
omnes laudationes, non quod omnes, sed de omni genere laudis. Judgements
in ancient times were made at the gates; and so he says,
In the gates of the daughter of Sion,
that is, Jerusalem, since it was
subject to the citadel that was called Zion; so this is as if to
say, “To the multitude of the people of Jerusalem, I
may declare all thy praises,”
not All
the praises [as individual praises], but of all types of praise.
Item
portae filiae Sion dicuntur doctores Ecclesiae: Isa. 54: ponam
portas ejus in lapides sculptos; universos filios tuos doctos a
domino. Moreover,
the doctors of the Church are called The
gates of the daughter of Sion.
Isaiah
54: I will make...thy gates of graven stones...All thy children
shall be taught of the Lord.9
Item
justitiae: haec porta domini, justi intrabunt in eam, ut dicitur
Psal. 117: Item bonae cogitationes: Ps. 147: seras portarum. In
his ergo portis annunciabo laudes tuas. Also
[the gates may be interpreted as] justice. This
is the gate of the Lord, the just shall enter into it,
as Psalm 117 says. Likewise, [the gates may be interpreted as]
good thoughts. Psalm
147: The bolts of thy gates.
Therefore, in these gates, I will declare your praises.
k.
Exultabo. Posito uno fructu, scilicet praedicatione divinae
laudis, hic ponit secundum, scilicet laetitiam spiritualem a Deo.
Et primo ponit suam exultationem. Secundo occasionem exultandi,
ibi, infixae sunt gentes. Dicit ergo: annuntiem omnes laudes tuas.
I
will rejoice.
One of the fruits having been set down, namely the declaration of
divine praise, here he sets down the second, namely spiritual joy
due to God. And first he sets down his rejoicing, then second the
occasion for rejoicing, at, The
Gentiles have stuck fast.
Therefore he says,
That I may declare all thy praises.
Sed
hae essent steriles, si ita essent in ore quod non in corde esset
jucunditas: Psal. 146: Deo nostro jucunda sit laudatio; et ideo
subdit, exultabo in salutari tuo. Non in mundo vel in carne, sed
in tua salvatione qua me exaltas. Vel in Christo salvatore: Habac.
3: exultabo in Deo Jesu meo: 1 Reg. 2: laetata sum in salutari
tuo. But
these would be fruitless, if praises were in his mouth but there
was no joyfulness in his heart. Psalm
146: To our God be joyful and comely praise;
and so he adds I
will rejoice in thy salvation.
Not in the world or in the flesh, but in your salvation by which
Thou...liftest
me up.
Or, in Christ the savior. Habakuk
3: I will joy
in God my Jesus.
1
Kings 2: I have joyed in thy salvation.
Occasio
exultationis est inimicorum destructio, qui persequuntur sanctos.
Et persequuntur sanctos dupliciter. Primo violentia. Secundo
fraudulentia. Dicit ergo quantum ad primum, infixae sunt gentes:
ex hoc quod paraverunt occisionem aliis, ipsi occisi sunt; et ideo
dixit infixae, vel secundum Hieronymum submersae: quia illud quod
infigitur, deprimitur cum violentia. Et isti qui alios cum
violentia occidere videbantur, violenter oppressi sunt: Isa. 59:
semitae eorum incurvatae sunt in eis: Ps. 36: gladius eorum intret
et cetera. The
occasion for rejoicing is the destruction of the enemies, who
persecute the saints. And they
persecute the saints in two ways. First, by violence.
Second, by deceit. He thus says concerning
the first, The
Gentiles have stuck fast,
from the fact that they have prepared killing for other people,
but they themselves are killed. And so he says Stuck
fast,
or according to Jerome’s version, “Overwhelmed.” For, what
is stuck fast is pressed
down with violence. And those who were seen to have killed others
with violence have been pressed down. Isaiah
59: Their paths are become crooked to them. Psalm
36: Let their sword enter into their own hearts.
Vel
spiritualiter quis immergitur in interitum, quando facit peccatum;
quia ex hoc poenam aeternam intrat et damnatur: et in his operibus
infiguntur ex consuetudine: Job 18: immisit in rete pedem suum, et
in macula ejus ambulat. Or
the passage can be interpreted in a spiritual sense: one plunges
into destruction when one commits a sin, because by that one
enters eternal punishment and is damned. And one is stuck fast in
these actions by customs or habits.
Job. 18: For he hath thrust his feet into a net, and walketh in
its meshes.
Quantum
ad secundum dicit, in laqueo isto. Insidiatores avibus et
animalibus ponunt laqueos: sic qui insidiose procedunt: Ps. 56:
laqueum paraverunt pedibus meis. Et dicit absconderunt, quia ad
literam aucupes abscondunt laqueos; sic fraudulenter per verba
pacis quae dant, parant venenum seductionis: Ps. 139: in via hac
qua ambulabam, absconderunt superbi laqueum mihi. He
says concerning the second, In
the very snare.
Those who ambush birds and animals lay snares, and in like wise
those who proceed by ambush. Psalm
56: They prepared a snare for my feet.
And he says, Which
they hid,
because fowlers literally hide their snares. So [too they destroy
by deceit] by the words of peace they give, they prepare the
poison of seduction.
Psalm 139: [In
this way wherein I walked]
The proud have hidden a net for me.10
Tertius
fructus est agnitio divinae majestatis. Comprehensus est pes
eorum, idest malus affectus eorum: Osee 13: colligata est
iniquitas Ephraim, absconditum est peccatum ejus, qui inclinantur
solum ad malum. Et isti abscondunt laqueum, sed frustra: quia
cognoscetur dominus. Et per quae? Quia in operibus. Aliquando
aliqui in prosperitate non cognoscunt Deum, sicut Pharao, sed in
adversitate: Ps. 82: imple facies eorum ignominia; et ideo dicit:
judicia faciens. The
third fruit is recognition of the divine majesty. Their
foot hath been taken,
that is their bad desire. Hosea
13: The iniquity of Ephraim
is bound up, his sin is hidden,
[i.e. of those] who are inclined only to evil. And they hide the
snare, but with to no avail, because The
Lord shall be known.
And through what? In
the works of his [i.e.
the sinner’s]
own hands.
Sometimes, some people in prosperity do not know God, like
Pharaoh, but [they do] in adversity. Psalm
82: Fill their faces with shame [and
they shall seek thy name, O Lord. Let them be ashamed and troubled
for ever and
ever: and let them be confounded and perish.
And let them know that the Lord is thy name: thou art the most
High over all the earth].
And so he says, Executeth
judgments,
which are God’s judgements. Thus, he adds, In
the works.
Quae
autem sint judicia Dei, subdit: in operibus. Proprium divinae
sapientiae est, quod disponat omnia suaviter, Sap. 8. Et hoc facit
dando rebus ut per proprias formas in proprios fines tendant: sic
per ea per quae cogitant peccatores offendere, incidunt in poenas:
Job 5: qui apprehendit sapientes in astutia eorum. Et ideo dicit:
in operibus manuum suarum comprehensus est peccator: Prov. 5:
iniquitates suae capiunt impium, et funibus peccatorum suorum
constringitur: Job 18: praecipitavit eum consilium suum. What
is unique to the divine wisdom is that it arranges everything
agreeably, [as]
Wisdom 8 [narrates].
And it does this by giving to things that they strive towards
their proper ends by their proper forms. Job
5: Who catcheth the wise in their craftiness.
And so he says: The
sinner hath been caught in the works of his own hands.
Proverbs
5: His own iniquities catch the wicked, and he is fast bound with
the ropes of his own sins. Job 18: His own counsel shall cast him
down headlong.
Item
cognoscetur dominus, hic a sanctis. Etiam fugiens laqueum: Prov.
1: frustra jacitur rete ante oculos pennatorum. Dicit ibi Glossa:
facile evadit laqueos in terris qui semper habet oculos in caelis.
Hieronymus: unusquisque secum portat funes, vincula et tormenta,
unde sustinet mala; et occulto Dei judicio comprehenduntur
peccatores in laqueis quos abscondunt, et justi evadunt. And
likewise, The
Lord shall be known,
here by the saints. Even those fleeing the snare [know the Lord].
Proverbs
1: But a net is spread in vain before the eyes of them that have
wings.
Here the Gloss says: “Those who always
have their eyes on heaven easily escape snares on earth.” Jerome
says: “Every person carries with himself the ropes, fetters, and
torments [of sin], through which he endures evils; and by God’s
hidden judgement sinners will be caught in the snares they hide,
and the just will escape them.”
l.
Convertantur. Supra Psalmista prosecutus est de judicio Dei
quantum ad suos adversarios: hic prosequitur quantum ad totum
humanum genus, et quantum ad mala quae ubique per peccatores
aguntur: et circa hoc duo facit. Primo per modum orationis
praenuntiat Dei judicium contra malos. Secundo ponit malorum
progressum. Ut quid domine et cetera. Shall
be turned.
Above the Psalmist pursued God’s judgement in relation to his
adversaries. Here he pursues it in relation to the entire human
race, and in relation to the evils that are done everywhere by
sinners. And he does two things
regarding this. First, in the mode of prayer, he pronounces the
judgement of God against evil people. Second he sets down the
advancement of those who do evil, at, Why,
O Lord,
etc.
Circa
primum duo facit. Primo praenuntiat peccatorum poenam secundo
exposcit divinum judicium puniens, ibi, exurge domine. Circa
primum tria facit. Primo praenuntiat optandam poenam. Secundo
ponit causam poenae ex parte peccatorum, ibi, omnes gentes. Tertio
ex parte justorum, quoniam non in finem. Dicit ergo, convertantur.
Haec petitio dupliciter potest intelligi. Uno modo de punitione
malorum in praesenti per mortem. Alio modo in futuro per poenam
aeternam. Et dicit, convertantur peccatores, idest puniantur. Concerning
the first, he does two things. First he
pronounces the penalty for the sinners, and second he entreats
earnestly for divine judgement
that punishes, at Arise,
O Lord.
Concerning
the first he does three things. First, he pronounces the penalty
that is to be hoped for. Second, he sets down the cause of
punishment on the part of the sinners, at, All
the nations.
Third, on the part of the just, For
the poor man shall not be forgotten to the end.
So he says Shall
be turned.
This petition can be understood in two ways. In one way, it is
about the punishment of evil people in the present by death. In
another way, in the future by eternal punishment. And he says, The
wicked shall be turned,
that is, punished.
Sed
numquid hoc est petendum? Dicendum est, quod propheta dicit hoc
per modum praenuntiationis, et non petitionis, vel conformando se
divinae voluntati: Ps. 62: introibunt in inferiora terrae. Isa.
14: verumtamen in Infernum detraheris, idest Profundum laci. But
is this to be asked for? We should say that the prophet says this
in the mode of pronouncement and not petition, or by conforming
himself to the divine will. Psalm
62: They shall go into the lower parts of the earth.
Isaiah
14: But yet thou shalt be brought down to hell,
that is, The
depth of the pit.
Vel
per Infernum intelligitur obstinatio mentis in peccato et cetera.
Etiam vivus in Inferno convertitur peccator, quando innititur in
obstinationem: Rom. 1: tradidit deos in reprobum sensum; quasi
dicat: in hac vita dejiciantur. Est ergo poena conversio in
Infernum, ut dictum est. Or
by Hell
is understood obstinacy of mind in sinning, and so forth. A sinner
is even brought down Into
Hell,
when he persists in obstinacy. Romans
1: God delivered them up to shameful affections,
as if to say: “in this life, they are cast down.” Thus, the
penalty is being brought down Into
Hell,
as was said before.
Causa
poenae est oblivio Dei: qui enim recedit ab uno termino, disponit
se ad tendendum in alium. Duo termini hominis sunt Dei fruitio: et
Gehenna: et hoc est quod dicit, convertantur etc. scilicet illi
peccatores qui obliviscuntur Dei mandatorum et beneficiorum ejus.
Ps. 77: obliti sunt beneficiorum et mirabilium ejus quae ostendit
eis: Deut. 32: Deum qui te genuit dereliquisti, et oblitus es
domini creatoris tui. The
penalty’s cause is forgetting God. For he who draws away from
one end disposes himself to tending towards another. There are two
end-points for man: enjoyment of God, and Hell. And this is what
he is saying, at, Shall
be turned,
etc., namely those sinners who Forget
God’s mandates and His benefices. Psalm
77: And they forgot his benefits, and his wonders that he had
shown them.
Deuteronomy
32: Thou hast forsaken the God that beget thee, and hast forgotten
the Lord that
created thee.
Ex
parte justorum est alia causa, quae petit vindictam de
peccatoribus. Sunt autem in justis duo quae exigunt vindictam:
scilicet abjectio temporalis, et virtus spiritualis. Quantum ad
primum dicit: quoniam non in finem oblivio erit pauperis. Res
viles habentur despectui, sermo traditur oblivioni; sed non sic
traduntur oblivioni justi apud Deum: Jac. 2: Deus elegit pauperes
divites in fide, heredes regni quod repromisit Deus diligentibus
se. Matth. 5: beati pauperes spiritu, quoniam ipsorum est regnum
caelorum. On
the part of the just, there is another cause, which
asks for retribution against wicked sinners. For there are two
things in the just that demand retribution on their account,
namely their being rejected in the present time, and their
spiritual virtue. Concerning the first, he says,
For
the poor man shall not be forgotten to the end.
Things of little value are typically held in contempt, and speech
hands those things over to be forgotten But the just are not
handed over in this way to be forgotten in God’s kingdom. James
2: Hath not God chosen the poor in this world, rich in faith, and
heirs of the kingdom which God hath promised to them that love
him. Matthew
5: Blessed are the poor in spirit: for theirs is the kingdom of
heaven.
Ergo
licet hic videantur oblivioni traditi, hoc tamen non est in finem,
scilicet finaliter: Isa. 54: punctum in modico dereliqui te, et in
miserationibus magnis congregabo te. Et sequitur: et in
misericordia sempiterna misertus sum tui. Quando enim
recordabitur, tunc puniet opprimentes: Ps. 76: non obliviscetur
misereri Deus, neque continebit in ira sua misericordias suas. Therefore,
though here they may appear to be forgotten, still this not To
the end,
that is, finally. Isaiah
54: For a small moment have I forsaken thee, but with great
mercies will I gather
thee. And
what follows that verse is: With
everlasting kindness have I had mercy on thee. For
when God will be mindful, then He will punish the oppressors.
Psalm
76: Or will God forget to show mercy? or will he in his anger shut
up his mercies?
Quantum
ad secundum, patientia pauperum et cetera. Vel expectatio secundum
Hieronymum. Cum enim hic sustineant oppressionem patienter et
paupertatem, ex patientia merentur vindictam: nec expectatio
peribit in finem, quia consequentur bonum quod expectant. Aliter
et in finem, qui scilicet est vita aeterna. Sed numquid patientia
est in patria? Dicendum, quod non secundum essentiam, sed secundum
fructum: secus de caritate et justitia, quae erunt etiam secundum
essentiam. Concerning
the second, The
patience of the poor,
etc. Or, according to Jerome, The
expectation.
For when they put up with oppression and poverty patiently, they
merit deliverance by their patience. Nor shall the
Patience...perish
for ever,
because then the good
will arrive which they expect. And in another way, For
ever,
which is precisely eternal life. But is there no such patience in
our heavenly homeland? We should say: not according to the essence
of patience, but according to its fruit, differing from charity
and justice,
which will be there according to their essences.
Consequenter
cum dicit, exurge, praenuntiat divinum judicium: et circa hoc tria
facit. Primo excitat judicem. Secundo implorat judicium. Tertio
ostendit judicii fructus. Dicit quod non est oblitus in finem
pauperum: unde ipse quasi unus de pauperibus dicit, rogo ut non
differas usque in finem praemiare; sed exurge. Consequently,
when he says, Arise,
he announces the divine judgement. And concerning this he does
three things. First, he rouses the judge. Second, he begs for
judgement. Third, he indicates the fruit of the judgement. He says
that the situation of the poor is not forgotten forever: whence he
speaks about the poor as if he were one of them: “I ask that You
do not put off distributing rewards even to the end, but Arise.”
Et
circa hoc tria facit. Primo repudiat pravum sive humanum judicium.
Homo enim humanitus absque ratione opprimens non confortetur,
idest non valeat facere quod vult: Prov. 29: cum impii sument
principatum, gemet populus. And
concerning this he does three things. First he rejects crooked or
human judgement. For Let
not the
man unreasonably oppressing after the manner of man Be
strengthened,
that is, let him not be strong enough to do what he wills.
Proverbs 29: When the wicked shall bear rule, the people shall
mourn.
Secundo
exposcit judicium alterius: judicentur gentes, non secundum
voluntatem humanam, sed in conspectu tuo, scilicet tuo judicio,
quasi, appello ad te. Act. 25: ante tribunal Caesaris sto, ibi
oportet me judicari. Ps. 25: judica me domine quoniam et cetera.
Tertio petit adjutorem: constitue legislatorem, scilicet filium
tuum: Isa. 23: dominus legifer noster. Second
he earnestly asks for judgement of another person: Let
the Gentiles be judged,
not according to human will but In
thy sight,
meaning,
by Your judgement, as if to say “I appeal to you.” Acts
25: I stand at Caesar's judgment seat, where I ought to be judged.
Psalm
25: Prove me, O Lord,
etc. Third, he asks for a helper: Appoint...a
lawgiver,
namely, Your son. Isaiah
33: The Lord is our lawgiver.
Vel
aliter constitue legislatorem, idest punitorem secundum legem
tuam; secundum enim legem poena infertur. Hieronymus habet: pone
eis terrorem; alia translatio: mitte eis amaritudinem. Glossa: non
confortetur homo, idest Antichristus: judicentur, idest puniantur.
Fructus judicii, quia recognoscunt se esse homines: sciant gentes
quoniam homines sunt, fragiles, peccatores et mortales. Isa. 28:
vexatio dat intellectum. Sic Alexander quando fuit percussus,
recognovit se non filium Jovis, sed mortalem, ut ipse ait suis
militibus. On
in another sense, Appoint...a
lawgiver,
that is, a punisher in accordance with Your law. For according to
the law, a penalty is inflicted. Jerome has: “Impose on them a
terror;” Yet another translation has: “Send them bitterness.”
The Gloss states: “Let man,” that is Anti-Christ,
“not be strengthened.” Be
judged,
that is, let them be punished. The fruit of judgement is, that
they recognize that they are men: That
the Gentiles may know themselves to be but men,
fragile, sinners, and mortal. Isaiah
28: Vexation alone shall make you understand
what you hear.
So Alexander the Great, when he was struck, recognized that he was
not Zeus’ son, but a mortal, as he said to his soldiers.
m.
Hic ponit processum impiorum. Et primo ponit causam nequitiae
eorum. Secundo describit nequitiam, ibi, cujus maledictione et
cetera. Tertio contra eam implorat divinum auxilium, ibi, exurge
domine Deus. Causa nequitiae est duplex: scilicet permissiva et
inductiva. Secunda, ibi, quoniam laudatur peccator. Here
he sets down the advancement of evil people. And first he sets
down their wickedness. Second, he describes their wickedness at,
His
mouth is full of cursing,
etc Third, against this wickedness he calls upon divine aid, at
Arise,
O Lord God.
The wickedness’ cause is twofold: namely, a permitting cause and
an inducing cause. The second cause is, For
the sinner is praised.
Circa
primum tria facit. Primo ponit divinam dissimulationem, quae
videtur causa male agendi malis. Eccl. 8: quia non profertur cito
contra malos sententia, absque timore filii hominum perpetrant
mala; unde subdit: ut quid domine recessisti longe a nobis?
Inquantum non punis affligentes nos, et in hoc videris nos
despicere, in opportunitatibus, idest tempore in quo deberes ferre
auxilium. Vel in opportunitatibus, idest opportune hoc facis: quia
sancti inde proficiunt ad meritum vitae aeternae. Concerning
the first, he does three things. First he sets down the divine
concealment, which seems to be the cause for the evil acting
evilly. Ecclesiastes
8: For because sentence is not speedily pronounced against the
evil, the children of men commit evils without any fear,
so he adds: Why,
O Lord, hast thou retired afar off from
us, insofar as You do not punish those afflicting us, and You seem
to slight us, In
our wants,
that is during the time in which you should bring us aid. Or, In
our wants,
that is, You fittingly do this, because the saints then make
progress towards deserving eternal life.
Secundo
ponit dissimulationis effectum, dum superbit impius. Et ponit
duplicem effectum in malis. Superbiam, eo quod non statim
puniuntur a Deo; et ideo dicit: superbit impius, in potestatibus,
incenditur pauper, idest affligitur. Vel incenditur spiritualiter
ex consideratione superbiae impiorum et eorum peccatis: Psal. 68:
zelus domus tuae comedit me. Tertius effectus est, quia
comprehenduntur in consiliis quibus cogitant, quia consilia eorum
finaliter destruent eos: Prov. 5: iniquitates suae capiunt impium,
et funibus peccatorum suorum constringitur. Second,
he sets down the effect of the concealment, Whilst
the wicked man is proud.
And he sets down a double effect this has in evil people. [One is]
pride, through the fact that they are not immediately punished by
God, and so he says, The
wicked man is proud,
in his powers, The
poor is set on fire,
that is, he is afflicted. Or, [the poor is] Set
on fire
in a spiritual
sense through considering the pride of the impious and their sins.
Psalm
68: For the zeal of thy house hath eaten me up. The
third effect is that They
are caught in the counsels which they devise,
because their plans in the end will destroy them. Proverbs
5: His own iniquities
catch the wicked, and he is fast bound with the ropes of his own
sins.
n.
Quoniam. Hic ponuntur tres causae inducentes ad peccatum. Prima
est adulatio. Secunda contemptus Dei, ibi, dixit enim in corde
suo. Tertia praesumptio, ibi, non est Deus: circa primum tria
facit. Primo ponit adulationem ejus. Secundo effectum. Tertio
divinam clementiam. For.
Here three causes that induce one to sin are set down. The first
is flattery. Second, contempt for God, at
For he hath said in his heart.
Third, presumption, at God
is not.
Concerning the first, he does three things. First, he describes
down his flattery. Second the effect. Third, divine clemency.
Laudantur
autem, secundum Glossam, peccatores de duplici peccato: scilicet
carnalis concupiscentiae quantum ad seipsos, et injustitiae
quantum ad proximum; ideo superbiunt. Sed secundum Hieronymum,
quoniam laudatur, et ideo exacerbavit, in desideriis, quantum ad
concupiscentiam, et iniquus, quantum ad injustitiam contra
proximum. But
sinners are praised, according to the Gloss, for two kinds of sin,
namely that of carnal desire in relation to themselves, and that
of injustice in relation to their neighbor. And for that reason
they are proud. But, according to Jerome, The
sinner is praised,
and for that reason he Hath
provoked by
the objects of his desires, insofar as motivated by [carnal]
desire, And
the unjust man,
insofar as motivated by injustice towards his neighbor.
Littera
Hieronymi habet, vir avarus. Alia littera, raptor: Isa. 5: vae qui
dicunt bonum malum, quoniam ita est. Exacerbavit dominum peccator,
idest ad iracundiam provocavit. Hieronymus habet totum hoc sub uno
versu: et alius versus incipit, ibi, peccator secundum
multitudinem et cetera. Jerome’s
version has The
miserly man.
Yet another
version has “The robber.” Isaiah
5: Woe to you that call evil good, and good evil,
for
so it is [among misers and robbers]. The
sinner hath provoked the Lord,
that is he has provoked him to hot anger. Jerome has all of this
under one verse, and another verse begins at [The
sinner]
according
to the multitude,
etc.
Potest
autem legi secundum multitudinem irae suae non quaeret. Vel quia
citra condignum punit, vel quia magna ira non punit modo, ut
fortius puniat in futuro. Vel irae suae, scilicet peccatori, non
quaeret, peccatum Deus. But,
it can be read: According
to the multitude of his wrath he will not seek him.
Either, that He punishes while remaining within the limits of what
is appropriate, or that in His great anger He does not punish for
a while, so that He may punish the more severely in the future.
Or, [According
to the multitude]
of his wrath,
namely
that of the sinner, God Will
not seek the
sin.
o.
Non. Supra posuit Psalmista quasdam causas malitiae impiorum:
quarum una erat permissiva, quia Deus recedebat longe; secunda
inductiva, scilicet lingua blandiens: hic ponuntur aliae causae
motivae, scilicet intrinsecae: quae sunt duae: scilicet Dei
contemptus, et propria praesumptio. Secunda, ibi, dixit enim in
corde suo. Circa primum duo facit. Ponit primo, quod de Deo non
recogitat. Secundo, quod ejus judicia non formidat, ibi,
auferuntur. God
is not.
Above, the Psalmist set down certain causes of the malice of the
impious, of which one of these causes was permissive, because
God moved off to a distance; the second was an inducing cause,
namely a flattering tongue. Here he sets down yet other motive
causes, namely intrinsic ones, which are two in number,[first]
namely contempt for God, and [second] one’s own presumption. The
second at, For
he hath said in his heart.
Regarding the first he does two things. He sets down first that he
is not mindful of God. Second, that he does not dread His
judgement, at Are
removed from.
Circa
primum duo facit. Quia primo ponit aversionem a Deo, sive ejus
contemptum. Secundo aversionis effectum, ibi, inquinatae. Dicit
ergo, non est Deus in conspectu ejus. Hieronymus habet, in
cogitationibus quia nihil de eo cogitat; et continuatur sic: non
quaeret Deum peccator, quia non est in conspectu ejus, idest in
intentione, vel cogitatione: Job 21: dixerunt Deo, recede a nobis:
scientiam viarum tuarum nolumus. Regarding
the first, he does two things. First he sets down his turning way
from God, or his contempt. Second, the effect of his aversion, at,
Filthy.
Thus, he says: God
is not before his eyes. Jerome
has In
his thoughts,
because he thinks nothing about God. And he continues thus: The
sinner Will
not seek God,
because God is not before his eyes, that is, in his intention, or
in his thought. Job
21: Who have said to God: Depart from us, we desire not the
knowledge of thy ways.
Effectus
est, quia inquinatae sunt, idest sordent omni tempore viae suae.
Viae peccatoris sunt cogitationes, vel voluntates: Sap. 1: in
malevolam animam non introibit sapientia, nec habitabit in corpore
subdito peccatis. Et dicuntur inquinari per peccatum, vel ad
similitudinem peccatorum praecedentis temporis. The
effect is, that His
ways are filthy,
that is are
contemptible at all times. The ways of sinners are their thoughts
or volitions. Wisdom
1:
For wisdom will not enter into a malicious soul, nor dwell in a
body subject to sins.
And they are said to become filthy through sin, or by a likeness
to sinners of times past.
Hoc
allegorice de Antichristo, moraliter de peccatoribus dici potest:
quia eo ipso quod Deus non est in intentione eorum, convertunt se
ad temporalia; ex quibus anima inquinatur, inquantum permiscetur
eis quae sunt pejora quam anima. Sed anima permixta Deo, qui est
anima melior, non inquinatur, sed clarificatur; Thren. 1: sordes
ejus in pedibus ejus, nec recordata est finis sui: Ps. 34: viae
illorum tenebrae et lubricum: Hier. 2: me dereliquerunt fontem
aquae vivae, et foderunt sibi cisternas dissipatas quae continere
non valent aquas. This
can be said in an allegorical sense of Anti-Christ, and in a moral
sense of sinners. For by the very fact that God is not in their
intention, they turn themselves to temporal things, by reason of
which the soul becomes filthy, insofar
as the soul is mixed with those things that are baser than the
soul. But the soul which is commingled with God, who is a better
spiritual thing, is not made filthy but made clear and bright.
Lamentations
1: Her filthiness
is on her feet, and she hath not remembered her end. Psalm
34: Let their way become dark and slippery. Jeremiah.
2: They have
forsaken me, the fountain of living water, and have digged to
themselves cisterns, broken cisterns, that can hold no water.
Hieronymus
habet, parturiunt viae ejus, quia peccatores proponunt facere
diversa: Luc. 12: anima mea, habes multa bona reposita in annos
plurimos, comede et epulare. Et dixit dominus, stulte, hac nocte
et cetera. Ps. 7: concepit dolorem, et peperit iniquitatem.
Temporalibus adhaerens, in uno non infigitur, quia non sufficit:
et propter hoc diversa cogitat. Jerome’s
version has, “His ways are troubled,” because sinners propose
to do different things. Luke
12: And I will say to my soul: Soul, thou hast much goods laid up
for many years take thy rest; eat, drink, make good cheer. But God
said to him: Thou fool, this night,
etc. Psalm
7: He hath conceived sorrow, and brought forth iniquity. By
clinging to temporal things, a person is not fixed in one thing,
because [one temporal thing] does not suffice, and on account of
this he thinks about different things.
p.
Auferuntur. Hic ostendit quomodo contemnunt divinum judicium. Et
primo ponit causam. Secundo ostendit effectum, ibi, omnium
inimicorum. Judicia tua, idest beneficia tua, auferuntur a facie
ejus, idest a mente et memoria ejus: et sic non timebit quia non
cogitat de eis: Prov. 28: viri mali non cogitant judicia: qui
autem requirunt Deum, animadvertunt omnia: Dan. 13: declinaverunt
oculos suos ne viderent caelum. Sed Hieronymi litteram oportet
extorte dicere omnes inimicos suos despicient, quasi scilicet non
credit judicia Dei. Are
removed.
Here he shows the way in which they show contempt for divine
judgement. And first he sets down the cause. Second, he show the
effect, at, All
his enemies.
Thy
judgments,
that is Your benefits, are
removed from his sight,
that is from his mind and his memory. And
so he will not fear because he does not think of these things.
Proverbs
28: Evil men think not on judgment: but they that seek after the
Lord, take notice of all things.
Daniel
13: They... turned away their eyes that they might not look unto
heaven.
But, it is fitting that Jerome’s version explicitly says, “They
despise their
enemies,”
as
if because they do not believe God’s judgements [and thus regard
them as enemies to their way of life].
Et
dominabitur, supple In corde suo. Vel aliquando ex Dei permissione
mali dominantur inimicis. Et haec est causa, quare non
cognoscuntur divina judicia: Habac. 1: ipse de regibus
triumphavit: ibidem: impius praevalet adversus justum propterea
egressum est judicium perversum. He
shall rule over,
make matters right,
In his heart. Sometimes
by God’s permission the evil rule over their enemies. And this
is the reason why, that they do not know the divine judgements.
Habakuk
1: Their prince shall triumph over kings,
and in the same book, The
wicked prevaileth against the just, therefore wrong
judgment goeth forth.
Alia
causa est praesumptio de seipso: et praesumunt duo. Stabilitatem;
et hoc est quod dicit: dixit in corde suo, non movebor a
generatione, idest dominium meum non extendetur ab una gente in
aliam, non multis mala inferam: non movebor, idest non amittam
prosperitatem: Isa. 47: aggravasti jugum tuum valde, dixisti in
sempiternum ero domina. Another
reason is presumption with respect to himself. And he presumes two
things. One is stability,
and this is what he says at For
he hath said in his heart: I shall not be moved from generation to
generation,
that is, my rule will not be extended from one people to another,
nor will I cause evils to many. I
shall not be moved,
that is, I will not send prosperity away. Isaiah
47: Thou hast laid thy yoke exceeding heavy. And thou hast said: I
shall be a lady for ever.
Hieronymus
habet, et dixit, in aeternum ero a generatione sine malo, idest
nunquam patiar malum: Apoc. 18: sedeo regina, et vidua non sum. Et
Luc. 3, in Glossa exponens unam: dixit peccator volens perpetuare
nomen suum non ibit per celebritatem et famam. Jerome
has, “And he said, unto eternity I will be without evil for
generations,” that is, I will never suffer evil. Revelations
18: I sit a queen, and am no widow.
And Luke 3, in the Gloss, explaining one [passage] “a sinner
wanting to perpetuate his name said he will not last with his fame
and his reputation.”11
Sine
malo, idest non faciam malum. Vel non movebor, idest non perveniam
ad possessionem domorum, sine malo, violentiae et injustitiae. Et
sic faciet Antichristus secundum Glossam. Vel ego Antichristus non
movebor, idest inquietabor, a generatione in generationem sine
malo, scilicet ero secundum quod est licitum. Without
evil,
that is, I will not do evil. Or, I
shall not be moved,
that is, I will not achieve possession of peoples and families,
Without
evil,
that of violence and injustice. And according
to the Gloss, the Anti-Christ will do things in this way. Or, I
Anti-Christ Shall
not be moved,
that is, I will not be worried, From
generation to generation, and shall be without evil,
namely, I will be in accordance with what is permitted.
q.
Cujus. Hic ponit processum malitiae. Et primo in corde, de quo jam
dictum est. Secundo de ore. Tertio de opere, sedet in insidiis et
cetera. Circa primum duo ponit. Peccatum oris, quod committitur
tripliciter. Aliquando maledicendo Deum vel proximum quod est in
blasphemiam prorumpere: Isa. 1: blasphemaverunt sanctum Israel.
Quandoque maledicunt semiplene, quando timore retrahuntur. His.
Here he sets down the advancement of the wicked person. And, first
in his heart, about which
we have just spoke. Second, of his mouth. Third, of his work, He
sitteth in ambush,
etc. Regarding the first, he does two things. Sin of the mouth is
committed in three ways. Sometimes, by speaking ill of God or
one’s neighbor, which is to break forth in blasphemy. Isaiah
1: They have blasphemed the Holy One of Israel.
Sometimes one only half speaks ill, when one retracts what one has
said
out of fear.
Aliquando
in injurias prorumpendo, et hoc est os plenum amaritudine, Glossa,
amaris verbis et minis. Eph. 4: omnis amaritudo, indignatio,
blasphemia et clamor tollatur a vobis. Other
times it breaks forth into injury, and this is a Mouth...full...of
bitterness.
the Gloss has “by
bitter words and threats.” Ephesians
4: Let all bitterness, and anger, and indignation, and clamor, and
blasphemy, be put away from you, with all malice.
Aliquando
decipiendo, et hoc est plenum dolo: 1 Cor. 6: neque maledici neque
raptores regnum Dei possidebunt: Heb. 12: ne qua radix
amaritudinis sursum germinans impediat, et per eam inquinentur
multi. At
other times, by deceiving, and this is Full...of
deceit.
1
Corinthians 6. Nor railers, nor extortioners, shall possess the
kingdom of God.
Hebrews
12: Lest any root of bitterness springing up do hinder, and by it
many be defiled.
Secundo
ponit radicem cordis, sub lingua, idest in interioribus cordis
labor latet: Glossa, idest iniquitas. Cogitat enim perficere
iniquitatem in qua laborat: Hier. 9: ut inique agerent
laboraverunt: Job 20: cum dulce fuerit in ore ejus et cetera. Vel
labor, quia aliis cogitat inferre laborem et dolorem: dolor, idest
pernicies ex labore sequens: Isa. 59: labia viri locuta sunt
mendacium, et lingua vestra mendacium et iniquitatem facit. Second
he sets down the heart’s core, at, Under
his tongue,
that is, within their innermost hearts, Labor
(The Gloss says “that is, iniquity”) lies concealed. For he
thinks to bring about the wickedness in which he labors. Jeremiah
9: They have labored to commit iniquity.
Job
20: For when evil shall be sweet in his mouth.
Or,
Labor,
because he thinks to impose labor and sorrow on others, and
Sorrow,
that is, calamities following from labor. Isaiah
59: Your lips have spoken lies, and your tongue uttereth iniquity.
r.
Hic ostendit processum malorum quantum ad corpus; et circa hoc duo
facit. Primo proponit eorum processum. Secundo processus terminum,
in laqueo. Circa primum tria facit. Primo proponit cum quibus
insidietur, ibi, cum divitibus. Secundo, contra quos: ut
interficiat innocentem. Tertio quomodo insidiatur, insidiatur in
abscondito. Here
he shows the advancements of evils with respect to the body. And
concerning this, he does two things. First, he sets out their
advancement. Second, the end of the advancement, In
his net.
Concerning the first, he does three things. First he distinguishes
those with whom he waits in ambush, With
the rich.
Second, against whom,
That he may kill the innocent.
Third, the manner in which he will lie in ambush, He
sitteth in ambush...in private
places.
Dicit
ergo. Mali non contenti locutione, laborant perficere, unde sedet
in insidiis, cogitans quomodo noceat aliis. In occultis, propter
simulationem: Eccl. 11: multae insidiae sunt dolosi. Cum
divitibus, idest consiliariis: Eccl. 13: venatio leonis onagri in
eremo, sic pascua divitum pauperes. Hieronymus habet juxta
vestibulum, idest cameram suam. Thus
he says that evil people are not content with words, but labor to
bring things about, so He
sitteth in ambush,
thinking in what way he might harm others. In private places, on
account of pretense. Sirach
11: Many are the snares
of the deceitful.
With
the rich,
that is, with counselors. Sirach
13: The wild ass is the lion's prey in the desert: so also the
poor are devoured by the rich.
Jerome’s version has “In a
nearby vestibule,” that is, his own room.
Contra
quos ostendit? Certe contra innocentes: unde ut interficiat
innocentem, corporaliter vel spiritualiter: Exod. 23: insontem et
justum non occides. Et contra pauperes; unde oculi ejus in
pauperem respiciunt: Isa. 3: quare atteritis populum meum, et
facies pauperum commolitis? Glossa, Antichristus cum divitibus
habebit consilium contra pauperes. Hieronymus habet, oculi ejus in
robustos, quia pauperes in temporalibus non sunt robusti, sed in
spiritualibus: Job 16: hostis meus terribilibus oculis intuitus
est me. Against
whom does the evil person manifest [his evil deeds]? Certainly,
against the innocent, whence That
he may kill the innocent,
bodily and spiritually. Exodus
23: The innocent and just person thou shalt not put to death.
And against the poor, whence His
eyes are upon the poor man. Isaiah 3: Why do you consume my
people, and grind the faces of the poor? The
Gloss says: “The Anti-Christ will have plans with the rich
against the poor.” Jerome’s version has “His eyes are upon
the strong,” because the poor are not strong in temporal goods,
but they are in spiritual ones. Job
16: My enemy hath beheld me with terrible eyes.
s.
Insidiatur. Hic ponitur modus insidiandi. Et primo ponit
similitudinem, sicut leo in spelunca sua, scilicet sic principes
mali pauperes opprimunt: Prov. 28: leo rugiens et ursus esuriens,
princeps impius super populum pauperem. He
lieth in wait.
Here he sets down the manner of lying in wait. And, first he
establishes a likeness, Like
a lion in his den,
that is, this is how evil rulers oppress the poor. Proverbs
28: As a roaring lion, and a hungry bear, so is a wicked prince
over the poor people.
Secundo
ipsum modum insidiarum, insidiatur ut rapiat: Prov. 12: verba
impiorum insidiantur sanguini. Vel insidiatur ut rapiat pauperem,
idest bona pauperis per violentiam et fraudulentiam. Subdit modum
rapinae dum attrahit, alliciendo promissis, vel violentia, vel
fraudulentia: Prov. 7: blanditiis labiorum attrahit illum in
sagena. Second,
the very manner of ambush. Proverbs
12:
The
words of the wicked lie in wait for blood.
Again, He
lieth in ambush that he might catch the poor,
that is the goods of the poor by violence and by trickery. The
Psalmist adds the manner of catching, Whilst
he draweth,
that is by attracting through promises, or by violence, or by
trickery. Proverbs
7: She...drew him away with the flattery of her lips.
t.
In laqueo. Hic ponuntur duo. Et primo, ad quid pervenit eorum
conatus. Secundo causam, ibi, dixit enim. Pervenit enim conatus
peccatoris secundum ejus intentionem ad prostrationem pauperis:
unde, in laqueo suo; sed secundum Dei ordinationem pervenit primo
ad evacuationem potestatis: unde, inclinavit se. Contingit enim
bellicosos quandoque in principio, postea converti ad delicias, et
sic facti effeminati expelluntur. Et ideo philosophus dicit, quod
servantes dominium, non faciant filios suos delicate nutrire:
Eccl. 47: inclinasti femora tua mulieribus: Ps. 13: omnes
declinaverunt. Secundo ad totalem casum: Prov. 16: ante ruinam
exaltatio: quia signum ruinae exaltatio. Glossa exponit de
Antichristo. In
his net.
Here he sets down two things. And first, that at which their
effort arrives. Second, the cause, at For
he hath said.
Indeed, the effort
of the sinner ends up, according to his intention, in throwing the
poor man down, whence In
his net.
But in accordance with God’s arrangement of things, first he
arrives at the exhaustion of his power, whence He
will crouch.
For it happens that sometimes, those who
were warlike at the start, afterwards turn to pleasures, and thus
having become effeminate are driven out. And so the Philosopher
says that those serving a master should
not feed his sons in luxurious ways.12
Sirach
47:And thou didst bow thyself to women.
Psalm
13: They are all gone aside.
Second in falling entirely. Proverbs
16: Pride goeth before destruction,
because priding oneself is a sign of destruction. The Gloss
explains this as having to do with Anti-Christ.
Hieronymus
habet aliter, dum attrahit eum ad laqueum suum, et confractum
subjiciet et irruet viribus suis valenter. Leo primo prosternit
animal captum. Secundo subjicit. Tertio incumbit super illud. Jerome
has [the line-break] differently “Whilst he draweth him to”
his net, and he powerfully rushes at him with his forces and
throws him down broken to pieces. [Similarly,] a lion first forces
down an animal it has taken. And second, it subjects it to his
control. And third, it reclines upon its prey.
Causa
enim est falsa securitas quam concipit. Primo de praeterito: quia
oblitus est Deus, scilicet peccatoris. Contra Eccl. 16. Ne dicas
in corde tuo, a Deo abscondar et ex summo quis mei memorabitur?
Item ibidem, 23: delictorum meorum non rememorabitur altissimus,
et non intelligit quoniam omnia videt oculus ejus. Secundo de
futuro. Avertit faciem suam ne videat in finem: Job 22: nubes
latibulum ejus et cetera. Now,
the cause is the false security he assumes. And first, about the
past, because, God
hath forgotten,
namely about the sinner. Against which, Sirach
16
states:
Say not: I shall be hidden from God. and who shall remember me
from on high?
Likewise, Sirach
23: The most High
will not remember my sins. And he understandeth not that his eye
seeth all things.
Second, about the future. He
hath turned away his face not to see to the end. Job 22: The
clouds are his covert.
u.
Exurge. Supra Psalmista diligenter prosecutus ordinem humanae
iniquitatis; hic quasi zelo ductus et exclamans implorat auxilium
contra hujusmodi nequitiam. Et primo implorat auxilium. Secundo
inducit orationes et exauditiones. Tertio praenuntiat suam
exauditionem. Secundum, ibi, ne obliviscaris. Tertium, ibi,
contere. Arise.
Above
the Psalmist diligently laid out the order of human wickedness;
here, led by zeal, as it were, and crying out, he begs for divine
aid against this sort of wickedness. And first, he begs for aid.
Second, he draws attention to [his] prayers and occasions of being
heard. Third, he makes known God’s hearing
[of the prayers]. The second, at, Forget
not.
The third, at, Break
thou.
Et
petit unum, et aliud praesupponit: petit quod surgat, exurge.
Videtur dormire dominus quando patitur bonos affligi; surgit,
quando liberat: Isa. 52: consurge consurge, induere fortitudine
tua Sion: supponit divinam potentiam, exaltetur manus tua, in
potentia: et loquitur ad similitudinem percutientis irati quando
vult percutere hostem qui sublevat manum: Eccl. 36: alleva manum
tuam super gentes alienas, ut videant potentiam tuam. Isa. 26:
exaltetur manus tua ut non videant. Videant et cetera. Et
confundantur zelantes populi. He
asks for one thing and supposes another. He asks that He arise
from sleep, Arise.
The Lord appears to sleep when the good suffer having been
afflicted; and, He arises, when He liberates.
Isaiah
52: Arise, arise, put on thy strength, O Sion.
The Psalmist presupposes the divine power [in writing], Let
thy hand be exalted,
in power. And he is speaking by a simile
to an angered person who strikes, when he wants to strike the
enemy who lifts his hand [to attack]
Sirach 36: Lift up thy hand over the strange nations, that they
may see thy power. Isaiah
26: Let thy hand be exalted, and let them not see. Let the envious
people see, and be confounded.
Rationes
ponit, ne obliviscaris. Et nota quod quia iste Psalmus est factus
contra peccatores persequentes justos, semper ponit ex una parte
malitiam peccatorum, et ex alia justorum afflictionem. Ponit ergo
primo rationes. Secundo ostendit eas efficaces, vide quoniam et
cetera. He
sets down the reasons, at, Forget
not.
Note that because this Psalm was composed against sinners who
persecute the just, he always sets down on one side the wickedness
of sinners, and of the other the affliction of the just. And so,
he sets down first the reasons [for God’s action]. Second, he
shows those reasons to be effective, Thou
seest it,
etc.
Et
ponit duas rationes: unam ex parte justorum; et aliam ex parte
malorum, ibi, propter quid irritavit? Dicit ergo et exaltetur,
quia alias videbitur verum quod mali dicunt, te esse oblitum
pauperum: Isa. 49: numquid potest oblivisci mulier infantem suum,
ut non misereatur filio uteri sui? Et si illa oblita fuerit, ego
tamen non obliviscar tui: Ps. 136: adhaereat lingua mea faucibus
meis, si non meminero tui. And
he sets down two reasons [for God’s action]: one on the part of
the just, the other on the part of the evil, at Wherefore
hath the wicked provoked.
He says, therefore, Be
exalted,
because at other times, what the evil will say seems true, namely
that You have forgotten the poor. Isaiah
49: Can a woman forget
her infant, so as not to have pity on the son of her womb?
Psalm
136: Let my tongue cleave to my jaws, if I do not remember thee.
Alia
ratio ex parte malorum qui gravius peccant si non puniantur: Eccl.
8: et quia non cito profertur contra malos sententia et cetera. Et
ideo dicit propter quid; quasi dicat, propter hoc peccando Deum
irritant impii, quia non credunt ab eo requiri per poenas: Job 22:
circa cardines caeli perambulat, nec nostra considerat: et dicis
quid novit Deus; et quasi per caliginem judicat: Ezech. 9:
dereliquit Deus terram. Another
reason is on the part of evil people who sin more gravely if they
are not punished. Ecclesiastes
8: For because sentence is not speedily pronounced against the
evil,
etc. And so he says Wherefore,
as if to say, “Wherefore have the wicked provoked God by
sinning,” because they do not believe that they would be sought
out by Him through punishments. Job
22: And thou sayst: What doth God know? and he
judgeth as it were through a mist...and he doth not consider our
things, and he walketh about the poles of heaven.
Ezechiel
9: The Lord hath forsaken the earth.
v.
Vides. Fortificat rationes. Primo secundam, dicens, tu solus vides
laborem quem inferunt mali bonis, ut ex hoc tradas, idest in
posterum, eos in manus tuas, idest justitiae tuae, qui modo habes
eos in manibus potestatis tuae, et modo justitiam non exerces. Hoc
autem ignorant peccatores: quia ratio providentiae tuae eis ignota
est: Job 11: videns iniquitatem nonne considerat? Item ibidem 12:
apud ipsum est fortitudo et sapientia, ipse novit decipientem et
eum qui decipitur: et adducit consiliarios in stultum finem, et
judices in stuporem: Rom. 11: incomprehensibilia sunt judicia
ejus. Thou
seest.
Here, he strengthens the reasons [for God’s action]. First, the
second by saying Thou
[alone]
considerest
labour,
which the evil impose on the good, so that from this Thou
mayst deliver,
later, that is, Them
into thy hands,
that is, of Your justice, You who sometimes have them in the hands
of Your power, and sometimes do not exercise justice. But sinners
are ignorant of this, because the rational structure of Your
providence is unknown to them. Job
11: When he seeth iniquity, doth he not consider it?
Likewise, Job
12: With him is strength and wisdom: he knoweth both the deceiver,
and him that is deceived.
Romans
11: How incomprehensible are his judgments.
Vel,
in manus tuas, idest filii tui: Joan. 13: sciens quod omnia
tradidit ei pater in manus. Vel secundum Augustinum hic versus
dictus est ex parte impiorum quod dixit in corde suo non requiret,
scilicet Deus. Et iterum dixit, quoniam vides tu laborem.
Praelatus aliquando videt culpam subditi, et non punit timens
laborem, vel etiam poenam a punito; et ideo dicit, impius dixit: o
Deus non punis: quia non te sequitur labor et dolor. Sed prima est
melior littera. Or,
Into
thy hands,
that is, those of Your Son. John
13: Knowing that the Father had given him all things into his
hands.
Or, according to Augustine, this verse is said on account of the
wicked people, who Hath
said in his heart: He will not require it, namely
God. And he said again For
thou considerest labour.
Sometimes a prelate might see the fault of a subject, and fearing,
he does not punish with labor, but with a fine from the punished
person. And so he says, The
wicked...hath said:
O God, You do not punish, because labor and sorrow do not follow
you. But the first version is better.
w.
Tibi. Hic confirmat primam rationem; quasi dicat: non debes
oblivisci, quia tibi derelictus est pauper, unde ad te spectat
cura de eo. Isa. 52: gaude et laetare simul deserta Hierusalem:
quia consolatus est dominus populum suum. Omnes qui nihil habent
in mundo nisi solum Deum, auxilium eorum ad Deum solum spectat; 2
Paral. 20: cum ignoremus quid agere debeamus, hoc solum habemus
refugii ut oculos nostros dirigamus ad Deum. To
thee.
Here he confirms the first reason; as if to say: You should not
forget, since To
thee is the poor man left,
which is why care for him is expected of You. Isaiah
52: Rejoice,
and give praise together, O ye deserts of Jerusalem; for the Lord
hath comforted his people:
All who have nothing in the world except for God, look to God
alone for their help.
2 Chronicles 20: But as we know not what to do, we can only turn
our eyes to thee.
Sed
signanter loquitur: homines enim in mundo isto defendunt se
quandoque per divitias. Ps. 48: qui confidunt in virtute sua, et
in multitudine divitiarum suarum gloriantur. Quandoque per
consanguineos et amicos et defensores; sed qui non habent ista,
derelinquuntur Deo, et ideo dicit, tibi enim derelictus est
pauper: Job 36: eripiet pauperem de angustia sua. Item ibidem 3:
flebam quondam super eo qui afflictus et cetera. Thren. ult.
pupilli facti sumus absque patre: Ps. 87: sicut homo sine
adjutorio. But
he speaks clearly; for human beings in this world
sometimes defend themselves by riches. Psalm
48: They that trust in their own strength, and glory in the
multitude of their riches.
And other times by those related to them by blood, and by friends
and protectors, but those who do not have these are left to God,
and so he says, To
thee is the poor man left.
Job
36: He shall deliver the poor out of his distress
Likewise, Job
3: I wept heretofore for him that was afflicted.
Lamentations
5: We are become orphans without a father.
Psalm
87: As a man without help.
Et
si sic de paupere ex necessitate; multo magis de paupere ex
spiritu: et hoc quantum ad primum. Quantum ad secundum dicit,
orphano tu eris adjutor, qui non habet defensorem: Ps. 67: patris
orphanorum et judicis viduarum. Item 26: quoniam pater meus et
mater mea dereliquerunt me, dominus autem assumpsit me. And
if these things are so for the poor man because of his neediness,
how much more of the poor in spirit; so much then for the first
reason. As to the second, he says, Thou
wilt be a helper to the orphan,
who does not have a protector. Psalm
67: The father of orphans, and the judge of widows.
Likewise, Psalm
26: For my father and my mother have left me: but the Lord hath
taken me up.
x.
Contere. Hic annuntiat suam exauditionem. Et primo quantum ad
peccatores. Secundo quantum ad pauperes, ibi, desiderium pauperum
et cetera. Circa primum duo facit. Primo annuntiat cessationem
potestatis malorum, qua mala inferebant. Secundo cessationem
ipsorum malorum. Quantum ad primum dicit, contere brachium
peccatoris, qui contra Deum peccat: Isa. 14: contrivit dominus
brachium, sive baculum, impiorum, virgam caedentium populos et
cetera? Et maligni, qui peccat contra proximum: Ps. 36: brachia
peccatorum conterentur et cetera. Job 38: auferetur ab impiis lux
sua, et brachium eorum confringatur. Break
thou.
Here he announces that he has been heard. And first in relation to
sinners. Second, in relation to the poor, at The
desire of the poor,
etc. Regarding the first, he does two things. First he announces
the ending of the evil people’s power, by which they imposed
evils. Second, the ending of those evil people themselves. As to
the first he says, Break
thou the arm of the sinner,
those who sin against God. Isaiah
14.The Lord hath broken the arm,
or the
staff of the wicked, the rod...that struck the people, etc.
And
of the malignant,
who sin against their neighbors. Psalm
36: The arms of the
wicked shall be broken in pieces,
etc. Job
38: From the wicked their light shall be taken away, and the high
arm shall be broken.
Sed
quandoque contingit quod aliquis tyrannus facit malitiam, et licet
ipse consumatur, in malitia durat. Sed non ita: quia quaeretur
peccatum illius, et non invenietur: idest opus peccati illius actu
transit, sed non reatus: et poena peccatoris manet. Vel quaeretur
peccatum illius et non invenietur, in mundo. 1 Mach. 2: hodie
extollitur, et cras non invenietur. But
sometimes it happens that some tyrant does wickedness, and though
he himself is devoured [by time], the wickedness perdures. But it
is not so: because His
sin shall be sought, and shall not be found,
that is, the work of his sin in its act shall pass away, but not
his guilty state, and the penalty of the sinner remains. Or His
sin shall be sought, and shall
not be found,
in the world.
1 Maccabees 2: Today he is lifted up, and tomorrow he shall not be
found.
Aliquando
Deus permittit aliquos peccare propter bonum quod inde elicit:
sicut ex ira tyranni passio vel patientia martyrum: et ideo hic
invenitur locus malorum; sed tunc non invenietur habere peccatum
aliquam utilitatem. Sed quomodo fiet hoc? Quia regnum Dei auferri
non potest, ideo ab eo impii conterentur, dominus regnabit in
aeternum, quod comprehendit omnia saecula, et in saeculum saeculi,
idest aeternaliter. Sometimes
God allows some people to sin because of the good that is thereby
brought about, for instance the passion or patience of martyrs
on account of a tyrant’s rage. And so this life is discovered to
be a place of evils, but in the next sin will not be found to have
any usefulness. But, how does this occur? Because the kingdom of
God cannot be carried off, but the wicked are worn away by it, The
Lord shall reign to eternity,
which encompasses every age, and For
ever and ever,
that is, eternally.
Vel
in saeculum, quod succedit saeculo: Dan. 4: potestas ejus potestas
aeterna quae non auferetur, et regnum ejus quod non corrumpetur,
et vos impii peribitis de terra ista viventium: Ps. 1: tamquam
pulvis quem projicit ventus a facie terrae. Psal. 36: vidi impium
superexaltatum et elevatum sicut cedros Libani; et transivi, et
ecce non erat; et quaesivi eum et non est inventus locus ejus. Or,
For
ever
[To
the age],
which follows the present age. Daniel
4: For his power is an everlasting power, and his kingdom is to
all generations,
[and you wicked ones will perish from this land of the living].
Psalm
1: But like the dust, which the wind driveth from the face of the
earth.
Psalm
36: I have seen the wicked highly exalted, and lifted up like the
cedars of Libanus. And I passed by, and lo, he was not: and I
sought him and his place was not found.
y.
Desiderium. Hic praenuntiat exauditionem ex parte pauperum; et
ponit tria. Primo exauditionem, ibi, desiderium. Secundo in quo
exaudivit, ibi, judicare. Tertio quo fructu, ibi, ut non apponat.
Circa primum ostendit quod exaudiuntur pauperes efficaciter, quia
Deus dat eis quod desiderant: Prov. 10: desiderium suum justis
dabitur. The
desire.
Here he announces the hearing on the part of the poor, and he sets
down three things. First, the hearing, at, The
desire.
Second, that in which he has been heard, at To
judge.
Third, with what fruit, at, That
man may no more presume.
Regarding the first, he indicates that the poor have been heard
effectively, because God gives them what they desire. Proverbs
10: To the just their desire shall
be given.
Aliquando
vero exaudiuntur in particularibus desideriis, ut exaudiuntur
sancti in his quae plus desiderant. Item exaudivit, velociter
praeparationem: Isa. penul.: antequam clament, ego exaudiam: Ps.
90: clamavit ad me, exaudiam eum. Exaudivit autem in hoc, quod
judicat pupillo, quia pupillus est: Isa. 11: judicabit in justitia
pauperes, et arguet in aequitate pro mansuetis terrae, scilicet
humilibus. Humilis dicitur qui non innititur suae virtuti; Joel.
2: judicium pauperum et cetera. Job 36: judicium pauperibus
tribuit. Sometimes,
to be sure, they are heard in particular desires, as when the
saints are heard in those things which they desire more. Likewise,
Hath
heard,
quickly, the
preparation of their heart.
Isaiah
65: Before they call, I will hear.
Psalm
90: He shall cry to me, and I will hear him.
But he has heard in that he judges for the Fatherless,
because he is an orphan.
Isaiah 11: But he shall judge the poor with justice, and shall
reprove with equity for the
meek of the earth,
namely for the humble. One is called “humble” who does not
lean on his own virtue. Jeremiah
5: They have not judged the judgement of the poor. Job 36: He
giveth judgment to the poor.
Et
quo fructu? Ut non apponat homo, scilicet territus: hoc non est
bonum, quia superbia est. Ps. 130: si non humiliter sentiebam, sed
exaltavi animam meam. Sicut ablactatus et cetera. Item 11: linguam
nostram magnificabimus And,
with what fruit? That man may no more presume,
namely in a worldly way. This is not good, because it is pride.
Psalm
130: If I was not humbly minded, but exalted my soul: As a child
that is weaned, etc. Likewise,
Psalm 11: We will magnify our tongue.
(gbisadler@gmail.com)
The Aquinas Translation Project
(http://www4.desales.edu/~philtheo/loughlin/ATP/index.html)