The Divine Lamp

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PSALM 1: TEXT AND NOTES (The text of Psalm 1 is my own translation. You are urged to consult a recognised translation such as the RSV or the NAB)

Vs 1 Happy the man who walks not according to the direction of the wicked, stands not on the path with sinners, sits not in the assembly of scorners.

Happiness in the bible has little to do with the emotional state we often associate the word with. The happy man is one who enjoys God’s blessing here, and looks forward to its fullness in the future. It is interesting to note that the Hebrew word for happy, asre, is derived from a Semitic stem which in its verb form means “walk” or “go forward”; and in its noun form means “a footstep”. Our life then is conceived of as a pilgrimage, a religious journey towards God and full happiness. This accounts for the journey motif which dominates this Psalm.

The present state of the happy man, which will reach its fullness only in the future, is described first by using a three-fold negation:

1) The happy man is one who walks not according to the directions of the wicked. In the bible, the word walk, along with the word path and its synonyms (way, road) are used as metaphors for ones moral actions and life. In keeping with the journey motif I have translated the Hebrew word etsah (ay-tsaw) as direction rather than the commonly used “counsel” or “advice”.

2) The happy man stands not on the road with sinners. As already noted, the word road or path is a metaphor for ones moral activity. The Hebrew word chattaw (khat-taw) is derived from a root word which, among other things, can mean “to miss a target,” but also can mean “to go errant from a course, road or direction.

3) The happy man sits not in the assembly of scorners. The word sits translates the Hebrew mosab. The word has the sense of keeping formal company. The scorner is one who mocks the will of God and its manifestation in true religion (see Psalm 119:51)

The three negations of verse 1 appear to increase in their designation of evil situations. Taking directions from the unrighteous is foolish enough, but accompanying them on a journey is even more foolish; worse still is it to gather formally with them and share in their deliberations which scorn God’s law and those who follow it.

Vs 2 But in the law of the Lord is his delight, upon this law he ponders day and night.

Verse 2 begins to describe the just man in positive terms. He is now described according to that which shows him to be just. The word but is emphatic, highlighting the different approach to the subject and emphasising the utter contrast between the truly just one and those who live in accord with the negations of verse 1.

Rather than listening to the directions of sinners and finding a false kind of happiness in the company of such people, the truly happy man delights in the law of the Lord. Delight is a translation of the word chaphets (khaw-fates). One could translate the verse to read “his inclination is towards the law of the Lord, upon this law he ponders…” One moves towards what one delights in and desires. The sense of the Hebrew chaphets
then could have a connection to the journey motif.

Law here would be better translated as instruction. The Hebrew word torah can mean either law or instruction; with the second meaning being the more common meaning for not all instructions are laws, but all laws are, in some sense, instructive. Remember that the Law of Moses consists of the first five books of the OT, but Genesis and the first several chapters of Exodus, along with various parts of other books, contain few laws but much narrative.

Not only does the happy man delight in the law, but he also ponders it continuously. This word ponder (Hebrew hagah) originally referred to the cooing of a dove and is usually translated as “meditates”. When the Jews meditated on the law they would recite it in low tones, much as we do with the Our Father or the Psalms. The word then refers to thoughtful, reflective prayer. This stands in marked contrast to the scorners mentioned in verse 1. the Hebrew word for scorn originally referred to the talk of people of foreign tongues. It came to be applied to those who childishly mimic people. (see Isaiah 28:9-11 and the corresponding footnotes of the NAB)

Vs 3 He is like a tree well-planted by steams of water, which gives forth its fruit in its season; its leaves do not wither. Whatsoever he does, he prospers.

A good bit of the Holy Land is quite dry, and therefore treeless. Also, during a certain time of the year the Sirriocco winds begin to blow in from the desert and wither much of the foliage. A tree which has been well-planted by flowing water however, would do well. The word I have translated as well-planted implies that the tree in the image has in fact been transplanted beside the water. This perhaps suggests the idea that the just man is taken care of by God, who is sometimes described in the bible as a husbandman (grower of trees, vines, ect. See Isaiah 5:1-7; Luke 13:6-9).

In the prophet Jeremiah the wise man is described as a tree near water while the fool is described as a desert shrub:

5: Thus says the LORD: “Cursed is the man who trusts in man and makes flesh his arm, whose heart turns away from the LORD. 6: He is like a shrub in the desert, and shall not see any good come. He shall dwell in the parched places of the wilderness, in an uninhabited salt land. 7: “Blessed is the man who trusts in the LORD, whose trust is the LORD. 8: He is like a tree planted by water, that sends out its roots by the stream, and does not fear when heat comes, for its leaves remain green, and is not anxious in the year of drought, for it does not cease to bear fruit.” (RSV Jer 17) See alos Revelation 22:1-3

In keeping with the wisdom motif of the Psalm, it should be noted that the word wither in its Hebrew form, can also be applied to foolish men or things as in Proverbs 30:32. The word can also be applied to the act of treating something with contempt, as in Micah 7:6.

Vs 4 But not so are the wicked! They are like chaff driven on by the wind.

This verse begins with the Hebrew word loken which is translated above as but. This word highlights in an emphatic way the contrast between what was said in verse 3 concerning the just, and what is said in verse 4 concerning the wicked.

In stark contrast to verse 3 the wicked are here described as useless chaff. Chaff refers to the outer shell or husks from which grain was taken. Light, dry, sterile, it was utterly useless. It was fit only to burn, but even in this it was useless, since it burned so quickly it wasn’t even adequate for use as kindling. Most people simply left it on the ground to be driven away by the wind. It is hard to imagine an image of rootlessness and bareness more fitting than this. (see the prayer against enemies in Psalm 35:5) The winnowing of chaff is used, throughout the Bible, as a image of God’s judgement (see Hosea 13:2-3 and Matthew 3:12).

Wind is also used as an image of God’s punishment (see Psalm 18:42; Psalm 48:7; Hosea 13:15)

Vs 5 For this reason the wicked will not withstand the judgement, nor sinners stand in the assembly of the righteous.

The wicked will not stand in the judgement because the are like chaff. As chaff has no root in the ground these people have not root in God or his torah. In the judgement they will not stand with God and his holy people but will be removed from their presence.

The reference to sinners standing and the term assembly reminds us of the negations of verse 1. A man who stands not on the road with sinners, sits not in the assembly of scorners shows that he is already on the way to God and the fullness of happiness to come. A happiness which consist in withstanding God’s judgement and being present with the just.

Vs 6 The Lord whatches over the way of the just, but the way of the wicked perishes.

As a farmer who has transplanted a tree or vine keeps careful watch over it and cares for it, so God keeps careful watch over the righteous as they live out their life. The barren way of the wicked can only end in destruction.

(NOTE:The Psalm has a very interesting feature. The first word of the text (happy) begins with the first letter of the Hebrew Bible. The last word (perish) begins with the last letter of the Hebrew Alphabet. As far removed as Z is from A- that’s how far removed the righteous are from sinners)

I wanted to prepare notes for the July 20th Mass (extraordinary form) but found that the missal text of the introit contained a printers error, garbling the text. The introit is based upon Psalm 54 so I decided to post notes on the whole of it.  Please keep in mind that I’m speculating concerning some points.   I’ll post notes on the Mass later, beginning with the gradual.

Psalm 54:3-9

The Psalmist begins by invoking God (O God) to “save me by your name,” and to defend his cause “by your strength” (vs 3). He then invokes God a second time, asking that his prayer be heard and requesting that God “give ear to my prayers” (vs 4). He is motivated by the fact that the “loathsome”(Hebrew=zuwr) have risen against him (vs 5a). Zuwr can refer hostile people in general, or it can refer to people will foul breath. Inasmuch as the Psalmist has just asked God to “give ear to the words of my mouth” both meanings may be intended. Anyone who has ever had someone with bad breath attempt to whisper in their ear can appreciate the humor. Possibly the Psalmist is implying that his enemies engage in hypocritical prayer. If so, the idea would fit nicely with the Gospel reading for today. Those with bad breath are further described as terrifying, and they seek the “life” (Hebrew=nephes) of the Psalmist (vs5b). Nephes generally means breath, and by extension, life; perhaps their is another contrast being drawn between value of the Psalmist’s life-breath and the bad breath of his enemies. But nephes can also refer to a man’s back, and the text could read “the terrifying ones seek the back of my neck.” His head is, as it were, on the chopping block. The problem with the enemies is that “they have not set God before them” (vs 5c). Verse 5 contains a neat word-play in the Hebrew: The enemies have “risen up” (Heb=quwm) against the Psalmist rather than “set up” (Heb=suwm) God before them. An attack against a righteous man is an attack against God (Saul, Saul, Why do you persecute me?)

In marked contrast to the enemies who have not “set God before them”, thereby rejecting God’s presence, the Psalmist states (vs 6a): “God is before me as my helper.” In verse 6b we read (literally): “The Lord lift up my neck.” The image here is that of a benevolent king who raises the humbly bowed head of one of his subjects. The image contrasts nicely with with verse 5c, which spoke of the enemies seeking the back of the Psalmists neck. Because of God’s graciousness and presence, the Psalmist can say: “Turn back the evil upon my enemies: cut them off in your faithfulness” (vs 7).

God’s preservation of the Psalmist will lead him to offer sacrifice and to praise the good name of the Lord (vs 8). This recalss the beginning of the Psalm: “save me by your name” (vs 3). The reason the Psalmist will do this is because: “your named has rescued me from all my troubles, and my eyes look down upon all my foes” (vs 9). The humble petitioner who had his neck lifted up by the Lord can now look down upon those who rose up against him (vs 5a), and sought the back of his neck (vs 5b).

Some of what follows has been edited by me.
The Psalmist prays for the removal of God’s chastisements, v. 2, because they have already brought him very low, vss. 2-4, because the divine  glory will be promoted by his rescue, v. 5, and obscured by his destruction, v. 6, and because, unless speedily relieved, he can no longer bear up under his sufferings, vss. 7-8.  He is nevertheless sure of the divine compassion, v. 9.  His prayer is heard and will be answered, v. 10, in the defeat and disappointment of his enemies, by whose malignant opposition his distress was caused, v. 11,.  This reference to his enemies constitutes the link of connection between this psalm and the foregoing series, and maintains the contrast, running through the series, between two great classes of mankind, the righteous and the wicked, the subjects of Messiah and the rebels against him, the friends and foes of the theocracy, the friends and foes of David, as an individual, a sovereign, and a type of the Messiah.  At the same time, this Psalm differs wholly from the others in its tone of querulous but humble grief, which has caused it to be reckoned as the first of the Penitential Psalms.  This tone is suddenly exchanged, in v. 9, for one of confident assurance, perfectly in keeping with what goes before and true to nature.

Note: The version of the Psalms used by this author includes the Psalm titles as part of the psalm itself (e.g., verse 1); verse 2 of this version of the Psalm corresponds to verse 1 in other versions which do not treat the title as a verse (e.g., NAB; NIV; NRSV).  I’ve omitted the author’s comments on on the title and begin with the Psalm proper, at verse 2.
2.  Oh Lord, Jehovah, do not in thine anger rebuke me, and do not in thy heat, or hot displeasure, chasten me.  Both the original verbs properly denote the conviction and reproof of an offender in words, but are here, as often elsewhere, applied to a providential chastisements, in which God speaks with a reproving voice.  This is not a prayer for the mitigation of the punishment, like that in Jer 10:24, bur for its removal, as appears from the account of the answer in vss. 9-11.  Such a petition, while it indicates a strong faith, at the same time recognises the connexion between suffering and sin.  In the very act of asking for relief, the psalmist owns that he is justly punished.  This may serve to teach us how far the confident tone of the preceding psalms is from betraying a self-righteous spirit,l or excluding the consciousness of personal unworthiness and ill-desert.  The boldness there displayed is not the self-reliance, but of faith.

3.  Have mercy upon me, (or be gracious unto me), oh Lord,  for drooping (languishing) am I.  The original construction is, for I am (one who) droops or withers, like a lighted plant.  Like a child complaining to a parent, he describes the greatness of his suffering as a reason for relieving him.  Heal me oh Lord, for shaken, agitated with distress and terror, are my ones, here mentioned as the strength and framework of the body.  This might seem to indicate  corporeal disease as the whole from which he prays to be delivered.  But the absence  of any such allusion in the latter part of the Psalm, and the  explicit  mention there of enemies as the occasion of his sufferings, shows that the pain of body here described was that arising from distress of mind, and which could only be relieved by the removal of the cause.   To regard the bodily distress as a mere figure for internal anguish, would be to  wholly arbitrary and destructive of all sure interpretation.  The physical effect here ascribed to moral causes is entirely natural and confirmed by all experience.

4.  The Psalmist himself guards against the error of supposing that his worst distresses were corporeal.  And my soul, as well as my body, which merely sympathizes with it, is greatly agitated, terror-stricken, the same word that was applied to the bones in the preceding verse.  The description of his suffering is then interpreted by another apostrophe to God.  And thou, oh Lord, until when, (how long)?   The sentence is left to e completed by the reader: how long will thou leave me to suffer?  how long before thou will appear for my deliverance?

5.  The expostulatory question is now followed by direct petition.  Return, oh Lord, deliver my soul, my life, my self, from this impending death.  As God seems to be absent when his people suffer, so relief is constantly described as his return to them.  (Oh) save me, a still more comprehensive term than that used in the first clause, for the sake of thy mercy, not merely according to it, as a rule or measure, but to vindicate it from reproach and do it honor, as a worthy end to be desired and accomplished.

6.  As a further reason for his rescue, he now urges that without it God will lose the honor, and himself the happiness, of his praises and thanksgivings.  For there is not in death, (or the state of the dead), thy remembrance, (any remembrance of thee).  In Sheol, the grave, as a general receptacle, here parallel to death, and like it meaning the unseen world or state of the dead, who will acknowledge, (or give thanks), to thee?  The Hebrew verb denotes that kind of praise called forth by the experience of goodness.  The question in the last clause is equivalent to the negative proposition in the first.  This verse does not prove that David had no belief or expectation of a future state,  nor that the intermediate state is an unconscious one, but only that in this emergency he looks no further than the close of life, as the appointed term of thanksgiving and praise.  Whatever might eventually follow, it was certain that his death would put an end to the praise of God, in that form and those circumstances, to which he had been accustomed.  Se below, on Ps. 30:10;  88:11-13; 115:17-18; and compare Isaiah 38:18.  So far is the argument here urged from being weakened by our clearer knowledge of the future state, that it is greatly strengthened by the substitution of the second or eternal death.

7.  I am weary in (or of) my groaning, I have become wearied with it, and unless I am relieved, I shall (still as hitherto) make my bed swim every night, my couch with tear I shall dissolve,  (or make to flow).  The uniform translation of the verbs as present does not bring out their full meaning, or express the idea, suggested in the Hebrew by the change of tense, that the grief which had already become wearisome must still continue without mitigation, unless God should interpose for his deliverance.  Thus understood, the verse is not a mere description, but a disguised prayer.

8.  Mine eye has failed, grown dim, a common symptom both of mental and bodily distress, from vexation, not mere grief, but grief mixed with indignation at my enemies,  It has grown old, dim like the eye of an old man, a still stronger expression of the same idea, in (the midst of) all my enemies, (or in consequence of) all my enemies, i.e. of their vexatious conduct.  Compare Ps 31:10.  In these two verses he resumes the description of his own distress, in order to show that the argument in vs 6 was appropriate to his case, as that of one drawing near to death, and therefore likely soon to lose the capacity and opportunity of praising God.

9.  Here the key abruptly changes from the tone of sorrowful complaint to that of joyful confidence.  No gradual transition could have so successfully conveyed the idea, that the prayer of the psalmist has been heard and will be answered.  The effect is like that of a whisper in the sufferer’s ear, while still engrossed with his distresses, to assure him that they are about to terminate.  This he announces by a bold and direct address to his persecuting enemies.  Depart from me, all ye doers of iniquity, the same phrase that occurs in Ps 5:6.  The sense is not that he will testify his gratitude by abjuring all communion with the wicked, but that his assurance of divine protection relieves him from all fear of his wicked foes.  When God arises, then his enemies are scattered.  This sense is required by the last clause of vs 8, and confirmed by a comparison with vs 11-For the Lord hath heard the voice of my weeping, or my weeping voice.  The infrequency of silent grief is said to be characteristic of the orientals, and the same thing may be observed in Homer’s pictures of heroic manners.

10.  The Lord has heard my supplication.  The assurance of this fact relieves all fear as to the future.  The Lord my prayer will receive.  The change in tense is not unmeaning or fortuitous.  The combination of the past and future represents the acceptance as complete and final, as already begun and certain to continue.  The particular petition thus accepted is the one expressed or implied in the next verse.

11.  Ashamed and confounded, (i.e. disappointed and struck with terror), shall all my enemies be.  The desire that they may be, is not expressed, but involved in the confident anticipation that they will be.  In the second verb there is an obvious allusion to its use in vss 3-4.  As he had been terror-stricken, so shall they be.  As they filled him with consternation, so shall God fill them.  They shall return, turned back from their assault, repulsed; they shall be ashamed, filled with shame at their defeat; and that in a moment, instantaneously.  (Excerpted from THE PSALMS, by J.A. Alexander.  The book is in the public domain)

In my previous entry I said I would try and post my notes on Psalm 5 today; as it turns out, I already posted on the Psalm some time back but forgot to list it on my NOTES ON THE PSALMS PAGE (see link under blog header). So, in my quest to reproduce everything ever written on Psalm 1, I’d like to post the following meditation on that Psalm. It was produced by Father Ronald Knox, the famous convert/writer/Biblical Scholar.

Psalm 1. A Caution Against Worldliness.

First Point. The soul must, in its measure, retire into seclusion from the world. Blessed is the man who has not walked in the counsel, that is, according to the lights and standards, of their imperfect world around him; who has not voluntarily gone out of his way into sinful courses. But we must not be content with this, we must walk in the right way, not standing about irresolutely and parleying with sin, y encouraging occasions, evil imaginations ect. Nor must we even sit down, that is, sink into apathy about spiritual things and fall back into acquiescence with the promptings of our own nature; for ours is a fallen nature, and we have to flee from its indifference towards heaven as if from a spot contaminated by disease. The will must be trained by mortifications and conform itself to the higher law of grace; the mind must be schooled by meditation on the mysteries of the faith, alike in times of happiness and in times of distress, lest we should forget our high calling.

Second Point. Only the mortified life is fruitful. In nature itself, it is not the least tended trees that are the healthiest, the pollarded willow thrives from the very harshness of its treatment. And the mortified life is to be compared to such a tree, rooted in one spot and yet continually growing: it does not depend on accidents of rain and droughts, of happiness, that is, or of misfortune, because it is planted by the waters of God’s grace, flowing like a river, always the same yet always mysteriously fresh. Fed by such nourishment, it will bring forth the fruit of holiness in due season, when God sees fit and in the measure he ordains. This fruit of holiness is the only produce of it which matters in the light of eternity: but even the leaves, that is the outward and unessential part of our lives, our temporal happiness, will be blessed by God’s special favor; and the works we undertake in his honor will be prospered through his Providence, often beyond our knowing.

Third Point. The immortified life is sterile and transient. The mortified life is the seed which falls into the ground and, buried as it is, grows into a flourishing plant. The life of the worldly, for all its appearance of freedom. is like the chaff or dust which the wind scatters about, unstable in principle and barren of fruit. It is the stubble which, as St Paul tells us, will be burned in the fire of judgment. Already, St John warns us God’s fan is in his hand, and he will one day burn the chaff in unquenchable fire. Happy are we if we walk in the way of the just, over which, however perilous it may seem, the providence of God keeps a fatherly watch for our protection; if we turn our backs resolutely on the way of sinners, which leads over uncharted ground to the wilderness, the precipice, or the morass

I’ve presented a number of different commentaries on Psalm 1, including one of my own. Here is one from a famed Jewish exegete from the Middle Ages, Rabbi David Kihmi (1160-1235 A.D.). This may not be to everyones liking. To access the rest of my notes (and others) on the Psalms, click on the banner “Notes on the Psalms” found underneath this blogs title header.
Happy the man! The word happy (Hebrew: asre) is always used in the plural, the reason being that man is not pronounced “happy” for one good which is found in him, or for one piece of good fortune which befalls him, but for many good things which are found in him, “happy is he!” And David includes in the Psalm the law of man and a description of what it is proper for him to do in this world, with a reference also to the good reward there is for the righteous and the punishment for the wicked. It is an exceedingly important Psalm, and therefore he opens his book with it and says:

Who doth not walk in the counsel of the wicked: He first recounts the evil way as he also says likewise elsewhere: “Depart from evil and do good” (Ps 34:15), because man first learns, from his youth up, the way of the desires of this world, to eat and drink and to be merry, and in them grows up, as it says: “for the imagination of man’s heart is evil from his youth” (Gen 3:21). So and then when a man arrives at years of discretion and begins to distinguish good and evil, he warns him to depart from the way of the wicked and not to follow their advice. Now the wicked are those who are feverishly anxious to amass wealth and the desires of whose heart are in the world, who do not distinguish between right and wrong, but for money’s sake steal and plunder and murder because of the exceeding restlessness of their heart. For the root meaning of “wickedness” is “restlessness,” as “when He giveth quietness who then can disquiet” (Job 29:29); “and withersoever he turned himself he disquieted them” (1 Sam 14:47); “neither shall disquiet deliver its masters” (Eccl 8:8); “Be not overmuch disquieted by worldly matters” (Eccl 7:17).

It is on this account that he conjoins “walk” with “wicked”; and with these he joins “counsel”, for they counsel the children of men to listen to them and they show them specious counsel to the effect that it is a fine thing to gather riches and to be merry. And man is largely deceived in this, for the good which is visible to his eyes appears best to him and he does not look to its end. And he (that is, the Psalmist) says:

Nor stand in the way of sinners: For a man commits sin while he is in his place at rest, in deed and in word and in thought. And the interpretation of “and in the way” is not the way of walking, but the habit and occupation of the man and his work, as “and shalt show them the way wherein they must walk” (Ex 18:20); and “Yet shall the righteous hold on his way” (Job 17:9); “not doing thy own ways” (Is 58:13); “I declared my ways” (Ps 119:26), and passages like these. So the interpretation of “nor stand” is: he does not linger with, nor does he devote himself to them, neither does he remain in their company, lest he should learn of their works.

Nor sit in the seat of the scornful: The scornful are those who are crafty in the knowledge of evil, who boast, and speak evil of the children of men, and slander and blame them, and who reveal secrets one to another. And this expression refers to “idlers who sit at the street-corners,” and for this reason he says: “nor sit in the seat of the scornful.” Notice that in these three are comprised all of man’s positions, either he walks or stands or sits. And lying down is included in sitting; and further (such) lying down is chiefly to sleep, and while man is asleep he does neither good nor ill. When he says, “Happy the man!” ect., behold, it is as if he warns him against doing according to their works, for he declares the man happy who withdraws from their way and separates himself from their works. And the interpretation of our teachers of blessed memory have placed upon it is represented by what they have to said: “Inasmuch as he has not walked how has he stood? And inasmuch as he has not stood how has he sat? And inasmuch as he has not sat how has he scorned? It is simply to tell you that if he has walked he will finally stand, and if he has stood he will finally sit, and if he has sat he will finally scorn, and if he has scorned, of him the Scripture says: “And if thou scorns thou alone shall bear it” (Prov 9:12).

But his delight is in the law of the Lord: He says: if he has departed from the evil way and yet has not done good, behold, he has not performed his work completely and it is not said of him, “happy is he!” And so it says: “Depart from evil and do good” (Ps 24:15). And although our teachers of blessed memory have said “if a man sits and has not committed sin, he is rewarded as one who performs a mitzvah (pious duty, command),” they have also interpreted it as applying to the case of him to whom transgression has come and who have been delivered from it, as it is said, “Depart from evil and do good,” i.e., Depart from evil for the sake of doing good. And so it says (Ps 119:3) “Yea, they do no unrighteousness; they walk in His ways.” And they hold they he who has conquered his inclination in regard to an action is as one who performed a mitzvah, when the temptation has befallen him, and so it is as said, “yea, they do no unrighteousness, ect.; although they have done no unrighteousness, still it is necessary that they should walk in His ways and do a good work. And so he says, “Happy is the man that walks not.” But what does he do? “His delight is in the law of the Lord.” And included in “delight” is oth learning and doing, as (in the text) “from doing the delight’ )Is 58:13); and doing apart from learning is not sufficient.

And in His law: He repeats “in His law” as “Noah, Noah” three times in one verse (Gen 6:9), and “Israel” five times in one verse (Numb 8:19) and other instances besides, for such is the usage of the Hebrew language. And they say (i.e. the Grammarians and Commentators in innumerable places) that it is by way of elegance (in diction). And our teachers of blessed memory comment: first it is called “the law of the Lord,” and lastly, when one is firmly established in it by study, it is made “His law” and is called by his name. The interpretation of

doth he meditate in his heart is “the meditation of my heart in Thy sight” (Ps 19:15); for he has already spoken of learning and doing, and now he speaks of the intention and purpose of the heart, that day and night his purpose should be fixed upon the Law and Commandments. And therefore an injunction is given concerning them in every action which he shall perform, as they say, “And let all thy actions be to the name (for the sake of Heaven.” And (as a matter of fact) “in His law doth he meditate day and night” because he occupies himself in study. In the Haggadic interpretation they say: “And how is it possible to meditate day and night? His work and his trade-how and when should he accomplish these? (Answer) But everyone who fulfills the commandment of the phylacteries, the Scripture gives him credit as if he had studied day and night.” And some say: “Everyone who recites the Shema morning and night.” But we say, following the literal sense, if we explain “doth meditate” of learning y rote, then the interpretation of

day and night will be: every time that he shall be free from his business occupations, whether of the day or the night.

3. And he shall be like a tree: He compares the good man to a tree planted over the streams of water: and says that the man who departs from evil and does good, lo! he is as a tree planted upon streams of water which is continually in his portion whether he have little to eat or much. And the interpretation of “streams of water” is that there is a stream of water on this side and a stream of water on that side, and they will be passing under it and it will be always over them.

That bringeth forth its fruit in its season: for the tree that is in a thirsty spot and that longs for rain does not bring forth its fruit in its season so long as the necessary rain does not descend, but is late and backward in putting forth its fruit because of its parched condition; but the tree that is planted upon the streams of water brings forth it fruit in its season.

His leaf also shall not wither: For the leaf wither from dryness, but in the case of this tree that is planted over the streams of water-its leaf does not wither. And the phrase “in its season,” which he has mentioned already, is to be supplied here, as if he said: “its leaf shall not wither in its season;” and this is the hot season when the children of men need its shade. Notice that the children of men need its shade. Notice that the children of men who are crossing backwards and forwards find in it a source of refreshment, and rest beneath if for the shade of its leaves, and drink from the water under it, and eat of its fruit, for in the rainy season the leaves fall from most of the trees. Or it may be taken hyperbolically; for even in the rainy season its leaf does not fall, as is the case with some trees, from the nature of the large amount of sap in them. And as it says, “its leaf shall not wither nor fail” (Ezek 47:12); it says also, “And the fruit thereof shall be for meat, and the leaf thereof for healing,” so from the good man the children of men get his fruit and his instructions, and it is from him they learn his religion and his good works. “Whose leaf shall not wither,” for they will take refuge in the shadow of his good ways. Our teachers have expounded “Bringeth forth its fruit in its season” as meaning that he teaches when he has attained the right to teach and not before his time; but when he has attained his time he does not old back from the office. And the interpretation of “in its season” is in the time for learning, learning, and in the time for work, work. And further our teachers of blessed memory have interpreted “whose leaf also shall not wither” as meaning that even the conversation of the wise must be studied, as though to say that even from their ordinary conversation a man can learn instruction in the affairs of the world and proper human conduct in intercourse one with another.

And whatever he produces shall prosper: If a cutting is taken from a tree it flourishes and becomes like it; so also in the case of the good man, his children and his descendants shall be like him. And our teachers have interpreted thus: “and whatsoever he produceth shall prosper”-if he “busies himself with Torah-study his worldly affairs shall prosper.” It is possible also to interpret this verse by way of blessing and peace and good reward; for if he departs from the evil way and does good his recompense will be that he shall be “like a tree planted upon the streams of water.” The learned Rabbi Abraham ibn Ezra of bleesed memory has interpreted thus: “his fruit” is the wise soul which shall be full of Torah and divine wisdom, so as to recognize her Creator and His works which abide forever; and will cleave to the world above on her separation from the body, like fruit which when it ripens on the tree separates itself from and has no further need of it; for the tree exists for the sake of fruit. “Whose leaf also shall not wither”-i.e. his good memorial, in accordance with the text “the memory of the just is blessed” (Prov 10:7). “And whatsoever he getteth shall prosper”-i.e. wealth, children, and honor.

4. Not so the wicked! But they are like chaff which the wind driveth away. He say that the wicked, and in these the sinners and the scornful are included, are not so, for the children of men are not profited by them and by their good fortune, but they only do them harm. their impulse also for evil is like “the chaff”-that is, the light stubble in the straw, which is no use to the sons of men, which “the wind driveth away” very quickly, and which does harm in its movement, for it strikes passers-by in the face and eyes; or “the wind driveth” it into houses or gardens, and it does harm there. And according to the latter interpretation which we have adopted of the previous verse-of requital and good reward-the interpretation of this verse will be, that the wicked will perish very quickly like “the chaff which the wind drives away.”

5. Therefore wicked men shall not rise up: Therefore, since the wicked walk in an evil way in this world, they shall rise up.

In the judgment: He maens to say, in the Day of Judgment, and that is the day of death, they shall have no rising again.

Nor sinners likewise; and it is the judgment of the scornful-they shall have no rising again.

in the congregation of righteous men: for the righteous, when they die, shall have a rising again; but as for the wicked, for them there is none, ut their soul shall perish with their body in the day of death. And he says “in the Congregation” for when the righteous dies his soul is the souls of the righteous rejoicing in the glory of the Most High.

6. For the Lord knoweth the way of the righteous: This verse is an explanation of the preceding; for he says “in the congregation of the righteous men” without explaining in what sense the congregation of the righteous after death is to be understood; therefore he interprets and says “that the Lord knoweth;” and the meaning of “knoweth” is “looks upon and considers with a view to doing them good.” And so in the passage “What is man that Thou takest knowledge of him?” (143:3); “Whom the Lord knew” (Deut 34:10); “for I know his sorrows” (Ex 3:7); “Thou hast known my soul in adversities” ((Ps 31:8); “I did know thee” (Hos 13:5). In this way too we understand “there is no man that will recognize men” (142:5); “blessed be he that did recognize me” (Ps 142:5); “blessed be he that did recognize thee” (Ruth 2:19). He says that God who is exalted gathers the souls of the righteous to Himself, and knows them, and recognizes them to do them good and satisfy them with His goodness and knowledge and care; for this is the greatest good and the best recompense, as it is said: “and the soul of my lord shall be bound in the bundle of life with the soul of the Lord thy God” (1 Sam 25:29).

But the way of the sicked shall perish: for at their death they have no rising again, as he has said “they shall not rise up;” but their souls shall perish and go to perdition, as it is said: “and the souls of thine enemies, them shall he sling out, as from the hollow of a sling.”

The Argument

Thomassin That Christ is the tree of life. This Psalm treats generally of all the Saints, but more especially of Joseph, who buried the body of the Lord. That the eye is to be used modestly.

Bede: In the first part the prophet expounds the virtues of the holy Incarnation. The second part shows that the wickedness of the ungodly shall receive its due recompense in the day of Judgment.

Arabic Psalter: The beauty of holiness and the hope of another world.

 

Historical Antiphons

 

Gregorian: Serve the Lord with fear, and rejoice unto Him with reverence.

Common of a Confessor: Blessed is the man whose meditation is in the law of the Lord; his delight shall remain day and night, and all things whatsoever he does shall prosper.

Common of One Martyr: In the law of the Lord was his delight day and night.

Common of Many Martyrs: By the rivers of waters he planted the vine of the just, and in the law of the Lord was their delight.

Easter Day: I am that am, and My counsel is not with the wicked, and in the law of the Lord is My delight. Alleluia.

Corpus Christi: The Lord gave the fruit of salvation to the taste at the season of His death.

All Saints: The Lord knows the way of the righteous, who meditates is in the law of the Lord day and night.

 

This Psalm is the preface of the Psalter, the Psalm of Psalms, the title of the whole book; and as the key of a palace, by opening the outer gate, gives access to innumerable chambers, so this gives admission to the mystery of all Psalms. And it has no title, because Jesus Christ, our Head, of Whom it altogether treats, “is before all things, and by Him all things subsist.” (St Peter Chrysolsogus, sermon 44)

 

Blessed: As the prize is proclaimed before the contest, so this book, the companion to the Church to the end of time in her great contest, opens with the promise of her great reward-blessedness. Both David and the Son of David, Jesus Christ, begin their teaching with a blessing; only whereas here we have but one, the commencement of the Sermon on the Mount gives us eight. (Michael Ayguan)

Blessed is the man: Namely, both He who is both God and Man, Jesus Christ. The counsel of the ungodly was oftentimes offered to Him. Satan said, “Command these stones to be made bread” (Mt 4:3); His brothers said, “If you do these things, show Yourself to the world” (Jn 7:4); The chief priests said, Let Christ, the King of Israel, descend now from the cross, that we may see and believe” (Mk 15:32). The way of sinners was open before Him; but He warned against it when He said, “Enter in at the narrow gate; for wide is the gate and broad is the way that leads to destruction” (Mt 7:13). Before the seat of the scornful He stood indeed, when He testified of Himself that for this end He came into the world, that He should bear witness to the truth . But when He sat, it was in the seat of teaching, as when He instructed the multitude in the Sermon on the Mount; or in the seat of love, as when He was known to the tow disciples in the breaking of bread; and finally He shall sit in the seat of judgment, when He shall come in the glory of the Father and of the holy Angels.( Michael Ayguan). You, therefore, O Christian, if you seek the name of blessed, repel these temptations as your Master did; for it is written: “Blessed is the man that endures temptation” (James 1:12). And when you have repelled them, remember to return the blessing to Him from Whom it came, according to that saying, “Blessed be the Name of His Majesty forever” (Ps 72:19). (Parez)

 

Notice the gradual way in which a man grows in hardened in sin. First he walks, or rather departs in the counsel of the ungodly; depart from God, and goes to himself; leaves the Fountain of all wisdom, for the advice of him that is the source of iniquity. Secondly, he stands in the way of sinners, for in that way all were born; but, who has not stood in it, after being once removed from it by holy Baptism. Lastly, which is more than walking or standing, there is the sitting in the seat of scoffers; the throwing in our lot and portion with them here, because we chose it, whose lot and portion will be ours hereafter, whether we chose it or not (St Bonaventure). And, again, there are three other steps of guilt: the ungodly, namely, those that forget God; the sinners, those who commit open and grievous sins; the scornful,those who boast themselves in their wickedness and ridicule that which is good . Where observe, that the three miracles of raising the dead which our Lord performed set forth for us His power over all these three degrees of sin (Parez). Jairus’ daughter was just dead; there is the state of the ungodly. The son of the widow of Nain was already carried out of the city; where we have the sinners, who are removed from the company of the faithful. Lazarus had been dead four days, and was buried; and he is a type of the scorners, who are dead and buried in trespasses and sins. And further, notice, that of these three, Lazarus is the only one that is mentioned by name; just as it has oftentimes pleased God to make the greatest sinners into the great lights of His Church.

 

Blessed is the man: The word man does not here denote sex, but maturity of reason, wherefore the Church does not hesitate to use the Psalm of certain Virgin Martyrs. And as the Psalmist tells us of the man Adam, who was wretched because he walked in the counsel of the ungodly, and thereby drew all men into condemnation, so he points to the doming Man, Whose obedience shall be rewarded with blessedness above human thought. The way of sinners: This world is that way, observes St Augustine, the broad way which leads to destruction. The seat of the scornful: The LXX and the Vulgate read “the seat of pestilence.” Sitting, that is, as a teacher of evil, corrupting by precept and example, in contrast with Christ, Whose words are healing to the soul. Pride is that seat, remarks another, and he only sits not there who desires not the kingdom of this world. Or, better, it is heretical doctrine, whose “word will eat as a cancer”(2 Tim 2:17) especially the false philosophy of Gentile pagans.

2. But his delight is in the law of the Lord: and in his law he exercises himself day and night.

Here we have three steps in holiness, which in some degree answer to the three stages of sin. And in the respective position of the two verses we learn that the beginning of God’s fear is to depart from sin,-its progress, to do good; as it is written, “ceases to do evil, learn to do good” (Is 1:16). To delight in the law of the Lord; this is much: and yet this, after a sort, is done by the wicked: “They take delight in drawing near to God” (Is 58:2). To meditate on his law by day,-that is, in the day of prosperity, is more; and yet of this Satan may say, “Does Job fear God for nothing?” But most of all it is to do so in the night of adversity. So it is with the Man of whose blessedness the Psalm treats. He so meditated on the law of His Father in the same night in which he was betrayed, that whereas He might presently have called for more than twelve legion of angels, He would not, saying, “How then shall the Scriptures be fulfilled, that thus it might be?” (Mt 26:54) Again, he so meditated on it in that night when “there was darkness over the whole earth from the sixth to the ninth hour,” that is is written of Him, “after this, Jesus, knowing that all things were now accomplished, that the Scripture might be fulfilled, said, I thirst.” And in these three steps to, or degrees of, holiness, we are reminded of that Blessed Trinity, to Whose presence they lead.

His delight is in the law…Yet the Apostle said that “the law is not made for the righteous man” (1Tim 1:9). But it is one thing to be IN the law, and another to be UNDER the law. He who is IN the law, deals according to the la, he who is UNDER the law, is dealt according to it. The one is free, the other a slave. Day and night…This is, in its fullness, true of Christ only, Who kept God’s law sleeping as well as waking, and of whom it is therefore said, “I sleep, but my heart is awake” (Sng of Sngs 5:3).

3. And he shall be like a tree planted by the water: Here, leaving for a moment the Lord, David turns to the servant. He, the true follower of Christ, shall be like the tree planted by the water-course, which is Christ himself, “the green tree” on which his enemies did such things, and which they hewed down, but which now flourishes in the midst of the Paradise of God. Thus it is said that the true servant of the Lord shall be transformed into the image of his Lord. Planted by the water…for as rivers flow through valleys and low countries, so the root of all holy actions is nourished by humility. And here also the tears of repentance are set forth to us, that the water-course by which the greatest of God’s saints have most loved to be planted. Planted…and that by the hand of God, as it is written, “Every tree which My heavenly Father has not planted shall be rooted up” (Mt 15:13). In due season…for it is not enough that our works be good, unless they also be done at the right time. As one says, “God loves adverbs; it matters little to him if a thing be good, than that it be well.” And this also was fulfilled by the Man of Whom we speak. Who Himself testified, “My time is not yet come, but your time is always ready” (Jn 7:6).

He, Christ Jesus Himself, shall be like a tree, in His humanity, planted by the water-course, because hypostatically united to the Godhead of the Son, which flows from the Father, that will bring forth His fruit, the Holy Spirit, Who has mission from Him, in due season, after His own resurrection and ascension. The Monastic Breviary, prefixing, on the Exaltation of the Cross, the words of Venantius Fortunatus as the antiphon of the Psalm:

Sweetest wood, and sweetest iron,
Sweetest weight is hung on thee,

teaches us that the Cross itself is the Tree which brought forth its fruit in God’s own season, as the same poet sings in another hymn:

When at length the sacred fullness
Of the appointed time was come,
This world’s Maker left His Father,
Sent the heavenly mission from.

And the verse will then tell us of conformity to the Passion as the true mark of the saint.

Others again, while referring the Tree to Christ, find in the water-course a reference to the Church, intended for all nations, according to the saying, “The waters are peoples, and multitudes, , and nations, and tongues” (Rev 17:15), and the fruit then denotes the local churches founded in many lands by the Apostles. They who take the Tree to represent a Saint, explain the water as the gift of the Holy Spirit, free cooling, satisfying.

4. His leaf shall not wither, and whatsoever he touches, it shall prosper: As the fruit signifies works, so the leaves set forth words. The leaves of the tree, the words of Him who spoke as man never spoke, “are for the healing of all the nations”(Rev 12:2). His leaf, not leaves; for all the words of the Christ are comprehended in this one, namely,-Love. Shall not wither… wherefore, O servant of God, knowing that every idle word men speak they shall give account, take heed lest you give offense with your tongue, and remember what the Master said, “Heaven and earth shall pass away, bu My words shall not pass away” (Mt 5:18) whatsoever he does, it shall prosper: It shall indeed. “He went forth conquering and to conquer” (Rev 6:2). “The help that is done upon earth, He does it Himself.” Shall prosper: There are three kinds of prosperity: that of fools, which destroys them; that of the godly, which may be a snare to them; and that of the blessed, the only true prosperity, when, as the prophet writes, “Jacob shall return, and be at rest and at ease, and none shall make him afraid’ (Jer 46:27). And thus David lays down six conditions necessary for the righteous man, and which were fulfilled by Him, Who died at the sixth hour of the sixth day. He must depart from sin (has not walked in the cousel of the ungodly); must love the commandments of God (his delight is in the law of the Lord); be conversant in them (on His law does he meditate); fulfill them (he brings forth his fruit); teach them (his leaf also shall not wither); persevere unto the end (whatsoever he does, it shall prosper).

5. As for the ungodly, it is not so with them: but they are like chaff which the wind scatters away upon the face of the earth. Now follows the wretched estate of the enemies of Christ. It is not so with them: They reviled The Man Whose blessedness is set forth, and reviled yet again; they gave Him vinegar and gall; He who feeds the sons of men with His own Body and Blood. They set on Him a crown of thorns; He who prepared for them a crown of glory. “I fed you with manna in the wilderness, and you gave me to drink vinegar and gall,” says the reproaches on Good Friday. They are like chaff which the wind scatters away. “As soon, then, As He said to them, ‘I am He, they went backward and fell to the ground”(Jn 18:6). The wind: Like that great and strong wind of old time, which rent the mountains and broke in pieces the rocks before the Lord, so this shall at the Last Day utterly destroy those whose hearts were hard as rocks. This is that whirlwind which Ezekiel saw coming, “Out of the north, with a great cloud and a fire enfolding itself”(Ezk 1:4). Scatters away upon the face of the earth: As it is written in another Psalm, “let them be as dust before the wind, and the angel of the Lord scattering them.” And it is also written in the Book of Revelations how the ungodly shall desire the mountains to fall on them and the hills to cover them from the wrath of the Lamb.

Chaff: The Vulgate reads dust, which the wicked are like, because unwatered by the grace of the Holy Spirit, not united by any bond of charity, “carried about by every wind of doctrine,” and by every temptation of the Devil, they are scattered away upon the face of the earth, that is, from the Church, the solid ground of the truth, which bears fruit for God.

6. Therefore the ungodly shall not be able to stand in the judgment: The Godly did stand in the judgment of that unrighteous governor; and by so standing for a while there, was exalted to sit down at the right hand of the Glory forever. Shall not be able to stand in the judgment: In one sense they certainly shall stand in it, as it is written, “We must all appear before the judgment seat of God.” But either they shall not stand in it, as being already judged, as it is written, “He that believes not, is condemned already” (Jn 3:18); or they shall not so stand in it as to abide in it, so as to be justified in it, so as to be delivered from it. “If the righteous scarcely be saved, where shall the ungodly and sinners appear?” (1 Pt 4:18) Neither the sinners in the congregation of the righteous: In this world they do stand in that congregation. The wheat and the tares grow together till the harvest. The net that is cast into the sea gathers bad fish as well as good. The man without the wedding garment comes into the palace of the king as well as he who is arrayed in it. But then it shall not be so. The sheep on the right, the goats on the left; the good fish gathered into buckets, the bad fish cast away; the wheat housed in the barn, the chaff burnt in fire that is not quenched; the other guests sitting down at the marriage supper of the Lamb, while he without the wedding garment is cast into outer darkness. The congregation of the righteous: Gathered together, that is, by the merits of the strength of Him Who is only righteous, and therefore truly His congregation.

7. But the Lord knows the way of the righteous: and the way of the ungodly shall perish: God is said to know things in two ways: in the way, as the schoolmen speak, of cognition, and in the way of complacence. By the one He knows all things, bad as well as good: as it is written, “You know the hearts of the children of men” (1 Kng 8:39); and again, “He knew what was in man” (Jn 2:25). By the other, He knows so as to approve: and in this sense it is said to the foolish virgins, “Truly I say to you, I know you not” (Mt 25:12). Knows the way of the righteous: and that will end in their knowing Him as He is. The way of the ungodly shall perish: Note, not the WAY of the ungodly shall perish, lest it should seem that no place were left for repentance.

Wherefore: Glory be to the Father, Who knows the WAY of the Righteous; glory be to the Son, Who is the WAY of the Righteous, the Man Who is blessed, and prosperous in whatever He does; glory to the Holy Spirit, Who is the Wind that scatters the ungodly. As it was in the beginning, is now, and ever shall be: world without end. Amen. -excerpted from A COMMENTARY ON THE PSALMS FROM PRIMITIVE AND MEDIEVAL SOURCES by J.M. Neale, Public domain book

 

 

 

 

“Why, O Lord,” saith he, “hast Thou withdrawn afar off?” (verse 1). Then he who thus inquired, as if all on a sudden he understood, or as if he asked, though he knew, that he might teach, adds, “Thou despisest in due seasons, in tribulations:” that is, Thou despisest seasonably, and causest tribulations to inflame men’s minds with longing for Thy coming. For that fountain of life is sweeter to them that have much thirst. Therefore he hints the reason of the delay, saying, “Whilst the ungodly vaunteth himself, the poor man is inflamed” (verse 2). Wondrous it is and true with what earnestness of good hope the little ones are inflamed unto an upright living by comparison with sinners. In which mystery it comes to pass, that even heresies are permitted to exist; not that heretics themselves wish this, but because Divine Providence worketh this result from their sins, which both maketh and ordaineth the light; but ordereth only the darkness, that by comparison therewith the light may be more pleasant, as by comparison with heretics the discovery of truth is more sweet. For so, by this comparison, the approved, who are known to God, are made manifest among men.

1. “They are taken in their thoughts, which they think:” that is, their evil thoughts become chains to them. But how become they chains? “For the sinner is praised,” saith he, “in the desires of his soul” (verse 3). The tongues of flatterers bind souls in sin. For there is pleasure in doing those things, in which not only is no reprover feared, but even an approver heard. “And he that does unrighteous deeds is blessed.” Hence “are they taken in their thoughts, which they think.”

2. “The sinner hath angered the Lord” (verse 4). Let no one congratulate the man that prospers in his way, to whose sins no avenger is nigh, and an approver is by. This is the greater anger of the Lord. For the sinner hath angered the Lord, that he should suffer these things, that is, should not suffer the scourging of correction. “The sinner hath angered the Lord: according to the multitude of His anger He will not search it out.” Great is His anger, when He searcheth not out, when He as it were forgetteth and marketh not sin, and by fraud and wickedness man attains to riches and honours: which will especially be the case in that Antichrist, who will seem to man blessed to that degree, that he will even be thought God.(1) But how great this anger of God is, we are taught by what follows.

3. “God is not in his sight, his ways are polluted in all time” (verse 5). He that knows what in the soul gives joy and gladness, knows how great an ill it is to be abandoned by the light of truth: since a great ill do men reckon the blindness of their bodily eyes, whereby this light is withdrawn. How great then the punishment he endures, who through the prosperous issue of his sins is brought to that pass, that God is not in his sight, and that his ways are polluted in all time, that is, his thoughts and counsels are unclean ! “Thy judgments are taken away from his face.” For the mind conscious of evil, whilst it seems to itself to suffer no punishment, believes that God cloth not judge, and so are God’s judgments taken away from its face; while this very thing is great condemnation. “And he shall have dominion over all his enemies.” For so is it delivered, that he will overcome all kings, and alone obtain the kingdom; since too according to the Apostle, who preaches concerning him, “He shall sit in the temple of God, exalting himself above all that is worshipped and that is called God.”(2)

4. And seeing that being delivered over to the lust of his own heart, and predestinated to extreme(3) condemnation, he is to come, by wicked arts, to that vain and empty height and rule; therefore it follows, “For he hath said in his heart, I shall not move from generation to generation without evil” (verse 6): that is, my fame and my name will not pass from this generation to the generation of posterity, unless by evil arts I acquire so lofty a principality, that posterity cannot be silent concerning it. For a mind abandoned and void of good arts, and estranged from the light of righteousness, by bad arts devises a passage for itself to a fame so lasting, as is celebrated even in posterity. And they that cannot be known for good, desire that men should speak of them even for ill, provided that their name spread far and wide. And this I think is here meant, “I shall not move from generation to generation without evil.” There is too another interpretation, if a mind vain and full of error supposes that it cannot come from the mortal generation to the generation of eternity, but by bad arts: which indeed was also reported of Simon, when he thought that he would gain heaven by wicked arts, and pass from the human generation to the generation divine by magic.(4) Where then is the wonder, if that man of sin too, who is to fill up all the wickedness and ungodliness, which all false prophets have begun, and to do such” great signs; that, if it were possible, he should deceive the very elect,”(5) shall say in his heart, “I shall not move from generation to generation without evil”?
5. “Whose mouth is full of cursing and bitterness and deceit” (verse 7). For it is a great curse to seek heaven by such abominable arts, and to get together such earnings for acquiring the eternal seat. But of this cursing his mouth is full. For this desire shall not take effect, but within his mouth only will avail to destroy him, who dared promise himself such things with bitterness and deceit, that is, with anger and insidiousness, whereby he is to bring over the multitude to his side. “Under his tongue is toil and grief.” Nothing is more toilsome than unrighteousness and ungodliness: upon which toil follows grief; for that the toil is not only without fruit, but even unto destruction. Which toil and grief refer to that which he hath said in his heart, “I shall not be moved from generation to generation without evil.” And therefore, “under his tongue,” not on his tongue, because he will devise these things in silence, and to men will speak other things, that he may appear good and just, and a son of God.

6. “He lieth in ambush with the rich” (verse 8). What rich, but those whom he will load with this world’s gifts? And he is therefore said to lie in ambush with them, because he will display their false happiness to deceive men; who, when with a perverted will they desire to be such as they, and seek not the good things eternal, will fall into his snares. “That in the dark he may kill the innocent.” “In the dark,”(6) I suppose, is said, where it is not easily understood what should be sought, or what avoided. Now to kill the innocent, is of an innocent to make one guilty.

7. “His eyes look against the poor,” for he is chiefly to persecute the righteous, of whom it is said, “Blessed are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven”(1) (verse 9). “He lieth in wait in a secret place, as a lion in his den.” By a lion in a den, he means one in whom both violence and deceit will work. For the first persecution of the Church was violent, when by proscriptions, by torments, by murders, the Christians were compelled to sacrifice: another persecution is crafty, which is now conducted by heretics of any kind and false brethren: there remains a third, which is to come by Antichrist, than which there is nothing more perilous; for it will be at once violent and crafty. Violence he will exert in empire, craft in miracles. To the violence, the word “lion” refers; to craft, the words “in his den.” And these are again repeated with a change of order. “He lieth in wait,” he says, “that he may catch the poor;” this hath reference to craft: but what follows, “To catch the poor whilst he draweth him,” is put to the score of violence. For “draweth” means, he bringeth him to himself by violence, by whatever tortures he can.

8. Again, the two which follow are the same “In his snare he will humble him,” is craft (verse 10). “He shall decline and fall, whilst he shall have domination over the poor,” is violence. For a “snare” naturally points to “lying in wait:” but domination most openly conveys the idea of terror. And well does he say, “He will humble him in his snare.” For when he shall begin to do those signs, the more wonderful they shall appear to men, the more those Saints that shall be then will be despised, and, as it were, set at nought: he, whom they shall resist by righteousness and innocence, shall seem to overcome by the marvels that he does. But “he shall decline and fall, whilst he shall have domination over the poor;” that is, whilst he shall inflict whatsoever punishments he will upon the servants of God that resist him.

9. But how shall he decline, and fall? “For he hath said in his heart, God hath forgotten; He turneth away His face, that He see not unto the end” (verse 11). This is declining, and the most wretched fall, while the mind of a man prospers as it were in its iniquities, and thinks that it is spared; when it is being blinded, and kept for an extreme and timely vengeance: of which the Psalmist now speaks: “Arise, O Lord God, let Thine hand be exalted” (verse 12): that is, let Thy power be made manifest. Now he had said above, “Arise, O Lord, let not man prevail, let the heathen be judged in Thy sight:”(2) that is, in secret, where God alone seeth. This comes to pass when the ungodly have arrived at what seems great happiness to men: over whom is placed a lawgiver, such as they had deserved to have, of whom it is said,” Place a lawgiver over them, O Lord, let the heathen know that they are men.”(3) But now after that hidden punishment and vengeance it is said, “Arise, O Lord God, let Thine hand be exalted;” not of course in secret, but now in glory most manifest. “That Thou forget not the poor unto the end ;” that is, as the ungodly think, who say, “God hath forgotten, He turneth away His face, that He should not see unto the end.” Now they deny that God seeth unto the end, who say that He careth not for things human and earthly, for the earth is as it were the end of things; in that it is the last element, in which men labour in most orderly sort, but they cannot see the order of their labours, which specially belongs to the hidden things of the Son. The Church then labouring in such times, like a ship in great waves and tempests, awaketh the Lord as if He were sleeping, that He should command the winds, and calm should be restored.(4) He says therefore, “Arise, O Lord God, let Thine hand be exalted, that Thou forget not the poor unto the end.”

10. Accordingly understanding now the manifest judgment, and in exultation at it, they say, “Wherefore hath the ungodly angered God?” (verse 13); that is, what hath it profiled him to do so great evil? “For he said in his heart, He will not require it.” Then follows, Thou seest toil and considerest anger, to deliver them into Thine hands” (verse 14). This sentence looks for distinct explanation, wherein if there shall be error it becomes obscure. For thus has the ungodly said in his heart, God will not require it, as though God regarded toil and anger, to deliver them into His hands; that is, as though He feared toil and anger, and for this reason would spare them, lest their punishment be too burdensome to Him, or lest He should be disturbed by the storm of anger: as men generally act, excusing themselves of vengeance, to avoid toil or anger.

11. “The poor hath been left unto Thee.” For therefore is he poor, that is, hath despised all the temporal goods of this world, that Thou only mayest be his hope. “Thou wilt be a helper to the orphan,” that is, to him to whom his father this world, by whom he was born after the flesh, dies, and who can already say, “The world hath been crucified unto me, and I unto the world.”(5) For of such orphans God becomes the Father. The Lord teaches us in truth that His disciples do become orphans, to whom He saith, “Call no man father on earth.”(1) Of which He first Himself gave an example in saying,” Who is my mother, and who my brethren?”(2) Whence some most mischievous heretics 3 would assert that He had no mother; and they do not see that it follows from this, if they pay attention to these words, that neither had His disciples fathers. For as He said, “Who is my mother?” so He taught them, when He said, “Call no man your father on earth.”

12. “Break the arm of the sinner and of the malicious” (verse 15); of him, namely, of whom it was said above, “He shall have dominion over all his enemies.” He called his power then, his arm; to which Christ’s power is opposed, of which it is said, “Arise, O Lord God, let Thine hand be exalted. His fault shall be required, and he shall not be found because of it;”(4) that is he shall be judged for his sins, and himself shall perish because of his sin. After this, what wonder if there follow, “The Lord shall reign for ever and world without end; ye heathen shall perish out of His earth”? (verse 16). He uses heathen for sinners and ungodly.

13. “The Lord hath heard the longing of the poor”(verse 17): that longing wherewith they were burning, when in the straits and tribulations of this world they desired the day of the Lord. “Thine ear hath heard the preparation of their heart.” This is the preparation of the heart, of which it is sung in another Psalm, “My heart is prepared, O God, my heart is prepared:”(5) of which the Apostle says, “But if we hope for what we see not, we do with patience wait for it.”(6) Now, by the ear of God, we ought, according to a general rule of interpretation, to understand not a bodily member, but the power whereby He heareth; and so (not to repeat this often) by whatever members of His are mentioned, which in us are visible and bodily, must be understood powers of operation. For we must not suppose it anything bodily, in that(7) the Lord God hears not the sound of the voice, but the preparation of the heart.

14. “To judge for the orphan and the humble” (verse 18): that is, not for him who is conformed to this world, nor for the proud. For it is one thing to judge the orphan, another to judge for the orphan. He judges the orphan even, who condemns him; but he judges for the orphan, who delivers sentence for him. “That man add not further to magnify himself upon earth.” For they are men, of whom it was said, “Place a lawgiver over them, O Lord: let the heathen know that they are men.”(8) But he too, who in this same passage is understood to be placed over them, will be man, of whom it is now said, “That man add not further to magnify himself upon earth:” namely, when the Son of Man shall come to judge for the orphan, who hath put off from himself the old man, and thus, as it were, buried his father.

15. After the hidden things then of the Son, of which, in this Psalm, many things have been said, will come the manifest things of the Son, of which a little has been now said at the end of the same Psalm. But the title is given from the former, which here occupy the larger portion. Indeed, the very day of the Lord’s advent may be rightly numbered among the hidden things of the Son, although the very presence of the Lord itself will be manifest. For of that day it is said, that no man knoweth it, neither angels, nor powers, nor the Son of man.(9) What then so hidden, as that which is said to be hidden even to the Judge Himself, not as regards knowledge, but disclosure? But concerning the hidden things of the Son, even if any one would not wish to understand the Son of God, but of David himself, to whose name the whole Psalter is attributed, for the Psalms we know are called the Psalms of David, let him give ear to those words in which it is said to the Lord, “Have mercy on us, O Son of David:”(10) and so even in this manner let him understand the same Lord Christ, concerning whose hidden things is the inscription of this Psalm. For so likewise is it said by the Angel: “God shall give unto Him the throne of His father David.”(11) Nor to this understanding of it is the sentence opposed in which the same Lord asks of the Jews,” If Christ be the Son of David, how then doth he in spirit call Him Lord, saying, The Lord said unto my Lord, Sit Thou on my right hand, until I put Thine enemies under Thy feet.”(12) For it was said to the unskilled, who although they looked for Christ’s coming, yet expected Him as man, not as the Power and Wisdom of God. He teacheth then, in that place, the most true and pure faith, that He is both the Lord of king David, in that He is the Word in the beginning, God with God,(13) by which all things were made; and Son, in that He was made to him of the seed of David according to the flesh. For He doth not say, Christ is not David’s Son, but if ye already hold that He is his Son, learn how He is his Lord: and do not hold in respect of Christ that He is the Son of Man, for so is He David’s Son;(14) and leave out that He is the Son of God, for so is He David’s Lord. (15)

To see my notes on Psalm 4 go here.
The Psalmist who according to the title of the poem, is David, begs the Lord the continuance ofHis favors and mercies (Vs 2). He is of troubled mind because there are some who turn asidefrom God, and speak falsely . These he addresses as “the children of men” (Vs 3). He reminds them of the striking favors which he has received from God, and urges them to abandon the schemes they are plotting against him. He advises them to turn to God with a perfect sacrifice- the token of a perfect heart. Men complain of the failure and sadness of all things. “And yet, says the psalmist, “the blessed light of God’s face is on us who trust in Him, and fills us with a joy more deep than the gladness of a rich harvest or vintage.”

He that lives in the light of God’s face has no fear; and with perfect trust in the Lord’s protecting care, the psalmist lays him down to rest. The sleep that comes at once betokens the peace of his heart, and the fulness of his trust. The concluding prayer shows the psalm to be a vesper prayer.

Tradition assigns the psalm to David, and it also assigns the composition of the poem to the period after the defeat of Absalom. It is clear from the text itself that the poet is a person of importance. His enemies are of high rank (”the children of men”). The designation of the psalmist as sanctus (Hebrew Hasid) is regarded by amny modern critics as an indication of a late (probably Maccabean) origin of the psalm. The contention, however, that hasid/sanctus is a sort of technical term confined to the Greek period, is, to say the least, not proven. (Taken from THE PSALMS: A STUDY OF THE VULGATE PSALTER IN THE LIGHT OF THE HEBREW TEXT by Father Patrick Boylan. The work is in the public domain)

The following is an introduction to the psalm from Father Patrick Boylan’s THE PSALMS: A STUDY OF THE VULGATE PSALTER IN LIGHT OF THE HEBREW TEXT. The work is in the public domain (USA).
In both the Hebrew and the vulgate this psalm is connected to the flight of King David from Jerusalem during the rebellion of Absalom. The situation implied is that which is described in 2 Kings 15-18. As he fled to Mahanaim,David’s position seemed well nigh desperate. Many, indeed, were they who rose against him. All Israel “Had turned its heart to Absalom”. The faint-hearted friends of the King were telling him it was useless to loof for further help from God. Yet, in all his humiliation and grief, David passionately proclaims his his unbroken confidence in his God. He recalls the many tokens of his mercy in the past: he remembers how often God has been his protector, his sheild, the loved object of his proud homage, the kind friend who had so often given him hope and courage when he was straited. Wearied with the toil and friefs of his hasty flight, David, in the midst of perils, spends a night in sleep. When he awakens he sees a new and touching token of God’s watchful love in the in the safety in which he has passed the night in peaceful slumber, though threatened on every side by ruthless foes. “Let my enemies come in thousands, I will not fear them,” he says in an outburst of heroic confidence. In the same spirit of confidence, deeming the future of his hope already present, he raises the ancient battle cry of victorious Israel: “Arise, O Yahweh!” and in spirit he sees his enemies broken, and thier fangs, with which, wild-beast-like, they had threatened him, shattered. To Yahweh alone, he sees, belongs the strength of victory.

The royal prayer at the close, pointing clearly to the kingly poet, is called forth by the thought of the horrors of the civil war which has begun: “On Israel, Thy people, be t=Thy blessing, Yahweh!”

There is no good reason which can be opposed to the Davidic origin of the psalm. The reference to the holy mountain does not prove that the temple was on Zion when the poem was composed. The ark was already on Zion. Indeed, David had instructed the priests who wished to carry away the ark in his flight to bring it back to Zion. The concluding verse implies a royal author.

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Note: Due to the length of this commentary I have decided to post it in several parts. I mad use of part of the introduction to this Psalm in my own notes on Psalm 2 which you can read here.
Psalm 2 is a sublime vision of the nations in revolt against God and his anointed, with a declaration of the divine purpose to maintain his kings authority, and a warning to the world that it must bow down or perish. The structure of this psalm is extremely regular. It naturally falls into four stanzas of three verses each. In the first, the conduct of the rebellious nations is described. In the second, God replies to them by word an deed. In the third, the Messiah or Anointed One declares the divine decree in relation to himself. In the fourth, the Psalmist exhorts the rulers of the nations to submission, with a threatening of the divine wrath to the disobedient, and a closing benediction on believers. The several sentences are also very regular in form, exhibiting parallelism of great uniformity. Little as this psalm might, at first sight, seem to resemble that coming before it, there is really a very strong affinity between them. Even in form they are related to one another. The number of verses and of stanzas is just double in the second, which moreover begins, as the first ends, with a threat, and ends, as the first begins, with a beatitude. There is also a resemblance in their subject and contents. The contrast indicated in the first is carried out and rendered more distinct in the second. The first is in fact an introduction to the second, and the second to what follows. And as the psalms which follow bear the name of David, there is the strongest reason to believe that these two psalms are his likewise, a conclusion confirmed by the authority of Acts 4:25, as well as by the internal character of the psalm itself. The imagery of the scene presented is evidently borrowed from the warlike and eventful times of David. He cannot, however, be himself the subject of the composition, the terms of which are wholly inappropriate to any king but the Messiah, to whom they are applied by the oldest Jewish writers, and again and again in the New Testament. This is the first of those prophetic psalms, in which the promise made to David, with respect to the Messiah (2 Sam 7:16; 1 Chron 17:11-14), is wrought into the lyrical devotions of the ancient church. The supposition of a double reference to David, or to some one of his successors, and to Christ, is not only needless and gratuitous, but hurtful to the sense by the confusion which it introduces, and forbidden by the utter inappropriateness of some of the expressions used to any lower subject. The style of this psalm, although not less pure and simple, is livelier than that of the first, a difference arising partly from the nature of the subject, but still more from the dramatic structure of the composition.

Verse 1: Why have the Gentiles raged, and the people devised vain things?

This psalm opens, like the first, with an exclamation, here expressive of astonishment and indignation at the wickedness and folly of the scene presented to the psalmist’s view. Why do the nations make a noise, tumult, or rage? The Hebrew verb is not expressive of an internal feeling, but of the outward agitation which denotes it. There may be an allusion to the rolling and roaring of the sea, often used as an emblem of popular commotion, both in the Scriptures and the classics. The past tense of this verb (why have they raged?) refers to the commotion as already begun, while the future tense in the next clause expresses its continuance. And the peoples, not people in the collective sense of persons, but in the proper plural sense of nations, races, will imagine (devise), i.e. are imagining and will continue to imagine, vanity,a vain thing, something hopeless and impossible. The interrogation in this verse implies that no rational solution of the strange sight could be given, for reasons assigned in the remainder of the psalm. This implied charge of irrationality is equally well founded in all cases where the same kind of opposition exists, though secretly and on the smallest scale.

Verse 2: The kings of the earth stood up, and the princes met together, against the Lord, and against his Christ (Anointed One)?

The confused scene presented in the first verse now becomes more distinct by a nearer view of the contending parties. Why will the kings of the earth se themselves, or take their stand, and rulers consult together, literally sit together, but with special reference to taking counsel, as in Psalm 31:14, Against God and against his Anointed, or Messiah, which is only a modified form of the Hebrew word here used, as Christ is a like modification of the corresponding term in Greek. External unction or anointing is a sign in the Old Testament, of the gifts of the Holy Spirit, and especially of those conferred on prophets, priests, and kings, as ministers of the theocracy, and representatives of Christ himself. To kings particularly, as the highest and most comprehensive order, and peculiar types of Christ in his supremacy as Head of the Church, the sacred history applies the title of the Lord’s Anointed. The right of unction is explicitly recorded in the case of Saul, David, and Solomon, and was probably repeated at the coronation of their successors. From the verse before us, and from Daniel 9:26, the name Messiah had, before the advent, come into use among the Jews as a common designation of the great deliverer and King whom they expected. (Compare John 1:41 with 1:49; and see also Mark 15:32). The intimate relation of the Anointed One to God himself is indicated even here by making them the common object of attack, or rather of revolt. In Acts 4: 25-27, this description is applied to the combination of Herod and Pilate, Jews and Gentiles, against Jesus Christ, not as the sole event predicted, but as that in which the gradual fulfillment reached its culmination. From the quotation, and indeed from the terms of the prophecy itself, we learn that nations here does not mean gentiles or heathen as opposed to Jews, but whole communities or masses of mankind, as distinguished from mere personal or insulated cases of resistance and rebellion.

Verse 3: Let us break their bonds asunder: and let us cast away their yoke from us.

Having described the conduct of the disaffected nations and their chiefs, he now introduces them as speaking. In the preceding verse, they were seen, as it were, at a distance, taking counsel. Here they are brought so near to us, or we to them, that we can overhear their planning. Let us break their bonds, i.e. the bonds of the Lord and his Anointed, that is the restraints imposed by their authority. The form of the Hebrew verb may be expressive of either a proposition or of a fixed determination. We will break their bonds, we are resolved to do it. This is in fact involved in the other version, where let us break must not be understood as a faint or dubious suggestion, but as a summons to the execution of a formed and settled purpose. The same idea is expressed, with a slight modification, in the other clause. And we will cast, or let us cast away their yoke, twisted ropes, a stronger term than bonds. The verse, too, while it really implies the act of breaking, suggests the additional idea of contemptuous facility, as if they had said, let us fling away from us with scorn these feeble bonds by which we have been hitherto confined. The application of this passage to the revolt of the Ammonites and and other conquered nations against David, or to any singular rebellion against any of the latter Jewish kings, as the principal subject of this grand description, makes it quite ridiculous if not profane, and cannot therefore be consistent with the principles of sound interpretation. The utmost that can be conceded is that David borrowed the scenery of this dramatic exhibition from the wars and insurrections of his own eventful reign. The language of the rebels in the verse before us is a genuine expression of the feelings entertained, not only in the hearts of individual sinners, but by the masses of mankind, so far as they have been brought into collision with the sovereignty of God and Christ, not only at the time of his appearance on earth, but in the ages both for and after that event, in which the prophecy, as we have seen, attained its height, but was not finally exhausted or fulfilled, since the same rash and hopeless opposition to the Lord and his Anointed still continues, and is likely to continue until the kingdoms of this world are become the kingdoms of our Lord and of his Christ (Rev 11:15), an expression borrowed from this very passage.