Book 21 Psalms (continued 1)
Project Gutenberg EPUB3 edition
65:17. I cried to him with my mouth: and I extolled him with my tongue.
65:18. If I have looked at iniquity in my heart, the Lord will not hear me.
65:19. Therefore hath God heard me, and hath attended to the voice of my supplication.
65:20. Blessed be God, who hath not turned away my prayer, nor his mercy from me.
Psalms Chapter 66
Deus misereatur.
A prayer for the propagation of the church.
66:1. Unto the end, in hymns, a psalm of a canticle for David.
66:2. May God have mercy on us, and bless us: may he cause the light of his countenance to shine upon us, and may he have mercy on us.
66:3. That we may know thy way upon earth: thy salvation in all nations.
66:4. Let people confess to thee, O God: let all people give praise to thee.
66:5. Let the nations be glad and rejoice: for thou judgest the people with justice, and directest the nations upon earth.
66:6. Let the people, O God, confess to thee: let all the people give praise to thee:
66:7. The earth hath yielded her fruit. May God, our God bless us,
66:8. May God bless us: and all the ends of the earth fear him.
Psalms Chapter 67
Exurgat Deus.
The glorious establishment of the church of the New Testament, prefigured by the benefits bestowed on the people of Israel.
67:1. Unto the end, a psalm of a canticle for David himself.
67:2. Let God arise, and let his enemies be scattered: and let them that hate him flee from before his face.
67:3. As smoke vanisheth, so let them vanish away: as wax melteth before the fire, so let the wicked perish at the presence of God.
67:4. And let the just feast, and rejoice before God: and be delighted with gladness.
67:5. Sing ye to God, sing a psalm to his name, make a way for him who ascendeth upon the west: the Lord is his name. Rejoice ye before him: but the wicked shall be troubled at his presence,
Who ascendeth upon the west... Super occasum. St. Gregory understands it of Christ, who after his going down, like the sun, in the west, by his passion and death, ascended more glorious, and carried all before him. St. Jerome renders it, who ascendeth, or cometh up, through the deserts.
67:6. Who is the father of orphans, and the judge of widows. God in his holy place:
67:7. God who maketh men of one manner to dwell in a house: Who bringeth out them that were bound in strength; in like manner them that provoke, that dwell in sepulchres.
Of one manner... That is, agreeing in faith, unanimous in love, and following the same manner of discipline. It is verified in the servants of God, living together in his house, which is the church. 1 Tim. 3.15. Ibid. Them that were bound, etc... The power and mercy of God appears in his bringing out of their captivity those that were strongly bound in their sins: and in restoring to his grace those whose behaviour had been most provoking; and who by their evil habits were not only dead, but buried in their sepulchres.
67:8. O God, when thou didst go forth in the sight of thy people, when thou didst pass through the desert:
67:9. The earth was moved, and the heavens dropped at the presence of the God of Sina, at the presence of the God of Israel.
67:10. Thou shalt set aside for thy inheritance a free rain, O God: and it was weakened, but thou hast made it perfect.
A free rain... the manna, which rained plentifully from heaven, in favour of God's inheritance, that is, of his people Israel: which was weakened indeed under a variety of afflictions, but was made perfect by God; that is, was still supported by divine providence, and brought on to the promised land. It agrees particularly to the church of Christ his true inheritance, which is plentifully watered with the free rain of heavenly grace; and through many infirmities, that is, crosses and tribulations, is made perfect, and fitted for eternal glory.
67:11. In it shall thy animals dwell; in thy sweetness, O God, thou hast provided for the poor.
In it, etc... That is, in this church, which is thy fold and thy inheritance, shall thy animals, thy sheep, dwell: where thou hast plentifully provided for them.
67:12. The Lord shall give the word to them that preach good tidings with great power.
To them that preach good tidings... Evangelizantibus. That is, to the preachers of the gospel; who receiving the word from the Lord, shall with great power and efficacy preach throughout the world the glad tidings of a Saviour, and of eternal salvation through him.
67:13. The king of powers is of the beloved, of the beloved; and the beauty of the house shall divide spoils.
The king of powers... That is, the mighty King, the Lord of hosts, is of the beloved, of the beloved; that is, is on the side of Christ, his most beloved son: and his beautiful house, viz., the church, in which God dwells forever, shall by her spiritual conquests divide the spoils of many nations. The Hebrew (as it now stands pointed) is thus rendered, The kings of armies have fled, they have fled, and she that dwells at home (or the beauty of the house) shall divide the spoils.
67:14. If you sleep among the midst of lots, you shall be as the wings of a dove covered with silver, and the hinder parts of her back with the paleness of gold.
If you sleep among the midst of lots (intermedios cleros, etc.)... Viz., in such dangers and persecutions, as if your enemies were casting lots for your goods and persons: or in the midst of the lots, (intermedios terminos, as St. Jerome renders it,) that is, upon the very bounds or borders of the dominions of your enemies: you shall be secure nevertheless under the divine protection; and shall be enabled to fly away, like a dove, with glittering wings and feathers shining like the palest and most precious gold; that is, with great increase of virtue, and glowing with the fervour of charity.
67:15. When he that is in heaven appointeth kings over her, they shall be whited with snow in Selmon.