The Holy Bible

Part 32 out of 74




52:6. They have not called upon God: there have they trembled for fear,
where there was no fear. For God hath scattered the bones of them that
please men: they have been confounded, because God hath despised them.

God hath scattered the bones, etc. . .That is, God has brought to
nothing the strength of all those that seek to please men, to the
prejudice of their duty to their Maker.

52:7. Who will give out of Sion the salvation of Israel? when God shall
bring back the captivity of his people, Jacob shall rejoice, and Israel
shall be glad.



Psalms Chapter 53


Deus, in nomine tuo.

A prayer for help in distress.

53:1. Unto the end, in verses, understanding for David.

53:2. When the en of Ziph had come and said to Saul: Is not David
hidden with us? [1 Kings 23.19]

53:3. Save me, O God, by thy name, and judge me in thy strength.

53:4. O God, hear my prayer: give ear to the words of my mouth.

53:5. For strangers have risen up against me; and the mighty have
sought after my soul: and they have not set God before their eyes.

53:6. For behold God is my helper: and the Lord is the protector of my
soul.

53:7. Turn back the evils upon my enemies; and cut them off in thy
truth.

53:8. I will freely sacrifice to thee, and will give praise, O God, to
thy name: because it is good:

53:9. For thou hast delivered me out of all trouble: and my eye hath
looked down upon my enemies.



Psalms Chapter 54


Exaudi, Deus.

A prayer of a just man under persecution from the wicked. It agrees to
Christ persecuted by the Jews, and betrayed by Judas.

54:1. Unto the end, in verses, understanding for David.

54:2. Hear, O God, my prayer, and despise not my supplication:

54:3. Be attentive to me and hear me. I am grieved in my exercise; and
am troubled,

54:4. At the voice of the enemy, and at the tribulation of the sinner.
For they have cast iniquities upon me: and in wrath they were
troublesome to me.

54:5. My heart is troubled within me: and the fear of death is fallen
upon me.

54:6. Fear and trembling are come upon me: and darkness hath covered
me.

54:7. And I said: Who will give me wings like a dove, and I will fly
and be at rest?

54:8. Lo, I have gone far off flying away; and I abode in the
wilderness.

54:9. I waited for him that hath saved me from pusillanimity of spirit,
and a storm.

54:10. Cast down, O Lord, and divide their tongues; for I have seen
iniquity and contradiction in the city.

54:11. Day and night shall iniquity surround it upon its walls: and in
the midst thereof are labour,

54:12. And injustice. And usury and deceit have not departed from its
streets.

54:13. For if my enemy had reviled me, I would verily have borne with
it. And if he that hated me had spoken great things against me, I would
perhaps have hidden my self from him.

54:14. But thou a man of one mind, my guide, and my familiar,

54:15. Who didst take sweetmeats together with me: in the house of God
we walked with consent.

54:16. Let death come upon them, and let them go down alive into hell.
For there is wickedness in their dwellings: in the midst of them.

Let death, etc. . .This, and such like imprecations which occur in the
psalms, are delivered prophetically; that is, by way of foretelling the
punishments which shall fall upon the wicked from divine justice, and
approving the righteous ways of God: but not by way of ill will, or
uncharitable curses, which the law of God disallows.

54:17. But I have cried to God: and the Lord will save me.

54:18. Evening and morning, and at noon I will speak and declare: and
he shall hear my voice.

54:19. He shall redeem my soul in peace from them that draw near to me:
for among many they were with me.

Among many, etc. . .That is, they that drew near to attack me were many
in company all combined to fight against me.

54:20. God shall hear, and the Eternal shall humble them. For there is
no change with them, and they have not feared God:

54:21. He hath stretched forth his hand to repay. They have defiled his
covenant,

54:22. They are divided by the wrath of his countenance, and his heart
hath drawn near. His words are smoother than oil, and the same are
darts.

They are divided, etc. . .Dispersed, scattered, and brought to nothing,
by the wrath of God; who looks with indignation on their wicked and
deceitful ways.

54:23. Cast thy care upon the Lord, and he shall sustain thee: he shall
not suffer the just to waver for ever.

54:24. But thou, O God, shalt bring them down into the pit of
destruction. Bloody and deceitful men shall not live out half their
days; but I will trust in thee, O Lord.



Psalms Chapter 55


Miserere mei, Deus.

A prayer of David in danger and distress.

55:1. Unto the end, for a people that is removed at a distance form the
sanctuary: for David, for an inscription of a title (or pillar) when
the Philistines held him in Geth.

55:2. Have mercy on me, O God, for man hath trodden me under foot; all
the day long he hath afflicted me fighting against me.

55:3. My enemies have trodden on me all the day long; for they are many
that make war against me.

55:4. From the height of the day I shall fear: but I will trust in
thee.

The height of the day. . .That is, even at noonday, when the sun is the
highest, I am still in danger.

55:5. In God I will praise my words, in God I have put my trust: I will
not fear what flesh can do against me.

My words. . .The words or promises God has made in my favour.

55:6. All the day long they detested my words: all their thoughts were
against me unto evil.

55:7. They will dwell and hide themselves: they will watch my heel. As
they have waited for my soul,

55:8. For nothing shalt thou save them: in thy anger thou shalt break
the people in pieces. O God,

For nothing shalt thou save them. . .That is, since they lie in wait to
ruin my soul, thou shalt for no consideration favour or assist them,
but execute thy justice upon them.

55:9. I have declared to thee my life: thou hast set me tears in thy
sight, As also in thy promise.

55:10. Then shall my enemies be turned back. In what day soever I shall
call upon thee, behold I know thou art my God.

55:11. In God will I praise the word, in the Lord will I praise his
speech. In God have I hoped, I will not fear what man can do to me.

55:12. In me, O God, are vows to thee, which I will pay, praises to
thee:

55:13. Because thou hast delivered my soul from death, my feet from
falling: that I may please in the sight of God, in the light of the
living.



Psalms Chapter 56


Miserere mei, Deus. The prophet prays in his affliction, and praises
God for his delivery.

56:1. Unto the end, destroy not, for David, for an inscription of a
title, when he fled from Saul into the cave. [1 Kings 24.]

Destroy not. . .Suffer me not to be destroyed.

56:2. Have mercy on me, O God, have mercy on me: for my soul trusteth
in thee. And in the shadow of thy wings will I hope, until iniquity
pass away.

56:3. I will cry to God the most high; to God who hath done good to me.

56:4. He hath sent from heaven and delivered me: he hath made them a
reproach that trod upon me. God hath sent his mercy and his truth,

56:5. And he hath delivered my soul from the midst of the young lions.
I slept troubled. The sons of men, whose teeth are weapons and arrows,
and their tongue a sharp sword.

56:6. Be thou exalted, O God, above the heavens, and thy glory above
all the earth.

56:7. They prepared a snare for my feet; and they bowed down my soul.
They dug a pit before my face, and they are fallen into it.

56:8. My heart is ready, O God, my heart is ready: I will sing, and
rehearse a psalm.

56:9. Arise, O my glory, arise psaltery and harp: I will arise early.

56:10. I will give praise to thee, O Lord, among the people: I will
sing a psalm to thee among the nations.

56:11. For thy mercy is magnified even to the heavens: and thy truth
unto the clouds.

56:12. Be thou exalted, O God, above the heavens: and thy glory above
all the earth.



Psalms Chapter 57


Si vere utique.

David reproveth the wicked, and foretelleth their punishment.

57:1. Unto the end, destroy not, for David, for an inscription of a
title.

57:2. If in very deed ye speak justice: judge right things, ye sons of
men.

57:3. For in your heart you work iniquity: your hands forge injustice
in the earth.

57:4. The wicked are alienated from the womb; they have gone astray
from the womb: they have spoken false things.

57:5. Their madness is according to the likeness of a serpent: like the
deaf asp that stoppeth her ears:

57:6. Which will not hear the voice of the charmers; nor of the wizard
that charmeth wisely.

57:7. God shall break in pieces their teeth in their mouth: the Lord
shall break the grinders of the lions.

57:8. They shall come to nothing, like water running down; he hath bent
his bow till they be weakened.

57:9. Like wax that melteth they shall be taken away: fire hath fallen
on them, and they shall not see the sun.

57:10. Before your thorns could know the brier; he swalloweth them up,
as alive, in his wrath.

Before your thorns, etc. . .That is, before your thorns grow up, so as
to become strong briers, they shall be overtaken and consumed by divine
justice, swallowing them up, as it were, alive in his wrath.

57:11. The just shall rejoice when he shall see the revenge: he shall
wash his hands in the blood of the sinner.

Shall wash his hands, etc. . .Shall applaud the justice of God, and take
occasion from the consideration of the punishment of the wicked to wash
and cleanse his hands from sin.

57:12. And man shall say: If indeed there be fruit to the just: there
is indeed a God that judgeth them on the earth.



Psalms Chapter 58


Eripe me.

A prayer to be delivered from the wicked, with confidence in God's help
and protection. It agrees to Christ and his enemies the Jews.

58:1. Unto the end, destroy not, for David for an inscription of a
title, when Saul sent and watched his house to kill him. [1 Kings 19.]

58:2. Deliver me from my enemies, O my God; and defend me from them
that rise up against me.

58:3. Deliver me from them that work iniquity, and save me from bloody
men.

58:4. For behold they have caught my soul: the mighty have rushed in
upon me:

58:5. Neither is it my iniquity, nor my sin, O Lord: without iniquity
have I run, and directed my steps.

58:6. Rise up thou to meet me, and behold: even thou, O Lord, the God
of hosts, the God of Israel. Attend to visit all the nations: have no
mercy on all them that work iniquity.

58:7. They shall return at evening, and shall suffer hunger like dogs:
and shall go round about the city.

58:8. Behold they shall speak with their mouth, and a sword is in their
lips: for who, say they, hath heard us?

58:9. But thou, O Lord, shalt laugh at them: thou shalt bring all the
nations to nothing.

58:10. I will keep my strength to thee: for thou art my protector:

58:11. My God, his mercy shall prevent me.

58:12. God shall let me see over my enemies: slay them not, lest at any
time my people forget. Scatter them by thy power; and bring them down,
O Lord, my protector:

58:13. For the sin of their mouth, and the word of their lips: and let
them be taken in their pride. And for their cursing and lying they
shall be talked of,

58:14. When they are consumed: when they are consumed by thy wrath, and
they shall be no more. And they shall know that God will rule Jacob,
and all the ends of the earth.

58:15. They shall return at evening and shall suffer hunger like dogs:
and shall go round about the city.

58:16. They shall be scattered abroad to eat, and shall murmur if they
be not filled.

58:17. But I will sing thy strength: and will extol thy mercy in the
morning. For thou art become my support, and my refuge, in the day of
my trouble.

58:18. Unto thee, O my helper, will I sing, for thou art God my
defence: my God my mercy.



Psalms Chapter 59


Deus, repulisti nos.

After many afflictions, the church of Christ shall prevail.

59:1. Unto the end, for them that shall be changed, for the inscription
of a title, to David himself, for doctrine,

59:2. When he set fire to Mesopotamia of Syria and Sobal: and Joab
returned and slew of Edom, in the vale of the saltpits, twelve thousand
men.

59:3. O God, thou hast cast us off, and hast destroyed us; thou hast
been angry, and hast had mercy on us.

59:4. Thou hast moved the earth, and hast troubled it: heal thou the
breaches thereof, for it has been moved.

59:5. Thou hast shewn thy people hard things; thou hast made us drink
the wine of sorrow.

59:6. Thou hast given a warning to them that fear thee: that they may
flee from before the bow: That thy beloved may be delivered.

59:7. Save me with thy right hand, and hear me.

59:8. God hath spoken in his holy place: I will rejoice, and I will
divide Sichem; and will mete out the vale of tabernacles.

59:9. Galaad is mine, and Manasses is mine: and Ephraim is the strength
of my head. Juda is my king:

59:10. Moab is the pot of my hope. Into Edom will I stretch out my
shoe: to me the foreigners are made subject.

The pot of my hope. . .Or my watering pot. That is, a vessel for meaner
uses, by being reduced to serve me, even in the meanest
employments.--Ibid. Foreigners. . .So the Philistines are called, who
had no kindred with the Israelites; whereas the Edomites, Moabites, etc.,
were originally of the same family.

59:11. Who will bring me into the strong city? who will lead me into
Edom?

59:12. Wilt not thou, O God, who hast cast us off? and wilt not thou, O
God, go out with our armies?

59:13. Give us help from trouble: for vain is the salvation of man.

59:14. Through God we shall do mightily: and he shall bring to nothing
them that afflict us.



Psalms Chapter 60


Exaudi, Deus.

A prayer for the coming of the kingdom of Christ, which shall have no
end.

60:1. Unto the end, in hymns, for David.

60:2. Hear, O God, my supplication: be attentive to my prayer.

60:3. To thee have I cried from the ends of the earth: when my heart
was in anguish, thou hast exalted me on a rock. Thou hast conducted me;

60:4. For thou hast been my hope; a tower of strength against the face
of the enemy.

60:5. In thy tabernacle I shall dwell for ever: I shall be protected
under the covert of thy wings.

60:6. For thou, my God, hast heard my prayer: thou hast given an
inheritance to them that fear thy name.

60:7. Thou wilt add days to the days of the king: his years even to
generation and generation.

60:8. He abideth for ever in the sight of God: his mercy and truth who
shall search?

60:9. So will I sing a psalm to thy name for ever and ever: that I may
pay my vows from day to day.



Psalms Chapter 61


Nonne Deo.

The prophet encourageth himself and all others to trust in God, and
serve him.

61:1. Unto the end, for Idithun, a psalm of David.

61:2. Shall not my soul be subject to God? for from him is my
salvation.

61:3. For he is my God and my saviour: he is my protector, I shall be
moved no more.

61:4. How long do you rush in upon a man? you all kill, as if you were
thrusting down a leaning wall, and a tottering fence.

61:5. But they have thought to cast away my price; I ran in thirst:
they blessed with their mouth, but cursed with their heart.

61:6. But be thou, O my soul, subject to God: for from him is my
patience.

61:7. For he is my God and my saviour: he is my helper, I shall not be
moved.

61:8. In God is my salvation and my glory: he is the God of my help,
and my hope is in God.

61:9. Trust in him, all ye congregation of people: pour out your hearts
before him. God is our helper for ever.

61:10. But vain are the sons of men, the sons of men are liars in the
balances: that by vanity they may together deceive.

Are liars in the balances, etc. . .They are so vain and light, that if
they are put into the scales, they will be found to be of no weight;
and to be mere lies, deceit, and vanity. Or, They are liars in their
balances, by weighing things by false weights, and preferring the
temporal before the eternal.

61:11. Trust not in iniquity, and cover not robberies: if riches
abound, set not your heart upon them.

61:12. God hath spoken once, these two things have I heard, that power
belongeth to God,

61:13. And mercy to thee, O Lord; for thou wilt render to every man
according to his works.



Psalms Chapter 62


Deus Deus meus, ad te.

The prophet aspireth after God.

62:1. A psalm of David while he was in the desert of Edom.

62:2. O God, my God, to thee do I watch at break of day. For thee my
soul hath thirsted; for thee my flesh, O how many ways!

62:3. In a desert land, and where there is no way, and no water: so in
the sanctuary have I come before thee, to see thy power and thy glory.

62:4. For thy mercy is better than lives: thee my lips will praise.

62:5. Thus will I bless thee all my life long: and in thy name I will
lift up my hands.

62:6. Let my soul be filled as with marrow and fatness: and my mouth
shall praise thee with joyful lips.

62:7. If I have remembered thee upon my bed, I will meditate on thee in
the morning:

62:8. Because thou hast been my helper. And I will rejoice under the
covert of thy wings:

62:9. My soul hath stuck close to thee: thy right hand hath received
me.

62:10. But they have fought my soul in vain, they shall go into the
lower parts of the earth:

62:11. They shall be delivered into the hands of the sword, they shall
be the portions of foxes.

62:12. But the king shall rejoice in God, all they shall be praised
that swear by him: because the mouth is stopped of them that speak
wicked things.



Psalms Chapter 63


Exaudi Deus orationem.

A prayer in affliction, with confidence in God that he will bring to
nought the machinations of persecutors.

63:1. Unto the end, a psalm for David.

63:2. Hear O God, my prayer, when I make supplication to thee: deliver
my soul from the fear of the enemy.

63:3. Thou hast protected me from the assembly of the malignant; from
the multitude of the workers of iniquity.

63:4. For they have whetted their tongues like a sword; they have bent
their bow a bitter thing,

63:5. To shoot in secret the undefiled.

63:6. They will shoot at him on a sudden, and will not fear: they are
resolute in wickedness. They have talked of hiding snares; they have
said: Who shall see them?

63:7. They have searched after iniquities: they have failed in their
search. Man shall come to a deep heart:

A deep heart. . .That is, crafty, subtle, deep projects and designs;
which nevertheless shall not succeed; for God shall be exalted in
bringing them to nought by his wisdom and power.

63:8. And God shall be exalted. The arrows of children are their
wounds:

The arrows of children are their wounds. . .That is, the wounds,
stripes, or blows, they seek to inflict upon the just, are but like the
weak efforts of children's arrows, which can do no execution: and their
tongues, that is, their speeches against them come to nothing.

63:9. And their tongues against them are made weak. All that saw them
were troubled;

63:10. And every man was afraid. And they declared the works of God,
and understood his doings.

63:11. The just shall rejoice in the Lord, and shall hope in him: and
all the upright in heart shall be praised.



Psalms Chapter 64


Te decet.

God is to be praised in his church, to which all nations shall be
called.

64:1. To the end, a psalm of David. The canticle of Jeremias and
Ezechiel to the people of the captivity, when they began to go out.

Of the captivity. . .That is, the people of the captivity of Babylon.
This is not in the Hebrew, but is found in the ancient translation of
the Septuagint.

64:2. A hymn, O God, becometh thee in Sion: and a vow shall be paid to
thee in Jerusalem.

64:3. O hear my prayer: all flesh shall come to thee.

64:4. The words of the wicked have prevailed over us: and thou wilt
pardon our transgressions.

64:5. Blessed is he whom thou hast chosen and taken to thee: he shall
dwell in thy courts. We shall be filled with the good things of thy
house; holy is thy temple,

64:6. Wonderful in justice. Hear us, O God our saviour, who art the
hope of all the ends of the earth, and in the sea afar off.

64:7. Thou who preparest the mountains by thy strength, being girded
with power:

64:8. Who troublest the depth of the sea, the noise of its waves. The
Gentiles shall be troubled,

64:9. And they that dwell in the uttermost borders shall be afraid at
thy signs: thou shalt make the outgoings of the morning and of the
evening to be joyful.

64:10. Thou hast visited the earth, and hast plentifully watered it;
thou hast many ways enriched it. The river of God is filled with water,
thou hast prepared their food: for so is its preparation.

64:11. Fill up plentifully the streams thereof, multiply its fruits; it
shall spring up and rejoice in its showers.

64:12. Thou shalt bless the crown of the year of thy goodness: and thy
fields shall be filled with plenty.

64:13. The beautiful places of the wilderness shall grow fat: and the
hills shall be girded about with joy,

64:14. The rams of the flock are clothed, and the vales shall abound
with corn: they shall shout, yea they shall sing a hymn.



Psalms Chapter 65


Jubilate Deo.

An invitation to praise God.

65:1. Unto the end, a canticle of a psalm of the resurrection. Shout
with joy to God, all the earth,

65:2. Sing ye a psalm to his name; give glory to his praise.

65:3. Say unto God, How terrible are thy works, O Lord! in the
multitude of thy strength thy enemies shall lie to thee.

65:4. Let all the earth adore thee, and sing to thee: let it sing a
psalm to thy name.

65:5. Come and see the works of God; who is terrible in his counsels
over the sons of men.

65:6. Who turneth the sea into dry land, in the river they shall pass
on foot: there shall we rejoice in him.

65:7. Who by his power ruleth for ever: his eyes behold the nations;
let not them that provoke him be exalted in themselves.

65:8. O bless our God, ye Gentiles: and make the voice of his praise to
be heard.

65:9. Who hath set my soul to live: and hath not suffered my feet to be
moved:

65:10. For thou, O God, hast proved us: thou hast tried us by fire, as
silver is tried.

65:11. Thou hast brought us into a net, thou hast laid afflictions on
our back:

65:12. Thou hast set men over our heads. We have passed through fire
and water, and thou hast brought us out into a refreshment.

65:13. I will go into thy house with burnt offerings: I will pay thee
my vows,

65:14. Which my lips have uttered, And my mouth hath spoken, when I was
in trouble.

65:15. I will offer up to thee holocausts full of marrow, with burnt
offerings of rams: I will offer to thee bullocks with goats.

65:16. Come and hear, all ye that fear God, and I will tell you what
great things he hath done for my soul.

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.

Kings over her. . .That is, pastors and rulers over his church, viz.,
the apostles and their successors. Then by their ministry shall men be
made whiter than the snow which lies on the top of the high mountain
Selmon.

67:16. The mountain of God is a fat mountain. A curdled mountain, a fat
mountain.

The mountain of God. . .The church, which, Isa. 2.2, is called The
mountain of the house of the Lord upon the top of mountains. It is here
called a fat and a curdled mountain; that is to say, most fruitful, and
enriched by the spiritual gifts and graces of the Holy Ghost.

67:17. Why suspect, ye curdled mountains? A mountain in which God is
well pleased to dwell: for there the Lord shall dwell unto the end.

Why suspect, ye curdled mountains?. . .Why do you suppose or imagine
there may be any other such curdled mountains? You are mistaken: the
mountain thus favoured by God is but one; and this same he has chosen
for his dwelling for ever.

67:18. The chariot of God is attended by ten thousands; thousands of
them that rejoice: the Lord is among them in Sina, in the holy place.

The chariot of God. . .Descending to give his law on mount Sina: as also
of Jesus Christ his Son, ascending into heaven, to send from thence the
Holy Ghost, to publish his new law, is attended with ten thousands,
that is, with an innumerable multitude of joyful angels.

67:19. Thou hast ascended on high, thou hast led captivity captive;
thou hast received gifts in men. Yea for those also that do not
believe, the dwelling of the Lord God.

Led captivity captive. . .Carrying away with thee to heaven those who
before had been the captives of Satan; and receiving from God the
Father gifts to be distributed to men; even to those who were before
unbelievers.

67:20. Blessed be the Lord day by day: the God of our salvation will
make our journey prosperous to us.

67:21. Our God is the God of salvation: and of the Lord, of the Lord
are the issues from death.

The issues from death. . .The Lord alone is master of the issues, by
which we may escape from death.

67:22. But God shall break the heads of his enemies: the hairy crown of
them that walk on in their sins.

67:23. The Lord said: I will turn them from Basan, I will turn them
into the depth of the sea:

I will turn them from Basan, etc. . .I will cast out my enemies from
their rich possessions, signified by Basan, a fruitful country; and I
will drive them into the depth of the sea: and make such a slaughter of
them, that the feet of my servants may be dyed in their blood, etc.

67:24. That thy foot may be dipped in the blood of thy enemies; the
tongue of thy dogs be red with the same.

67:25. They have seen thy goings, O God, the goings of my God: of my
king who is in his sanctuary.

Thy goings. . .Thy ways, thy proceedings, by which thou didst formerly
take possession of the promised land in favour of thy people; and shalt
afterwards of the whole world, which thou shalt subdue to thy Son.

67:26. Princes went before joined with singers, in the midst of young
damsels playing on timbrels.

Princes. . .The apostles, the first converters of nations; attended by
numbers of perfect souls, singing the divine praises, and virgins
consecrated to God.

67:27. In the churches bless ye God the Lord, from the fountains of
Israel.

From the fountains of Israel. . .From whom both Christ and his apostles
sprung. By Benjamin, the holy fathers on this place understand St.
Paul, who was of that tribe, named here a youth, because he was the
last called to the apostleship. By the princes of Juda, Zabulon, and
Nephthali, we may understand the other apostles, who were of the tribe
of Juda; or of the tribes of Zabulon, and Nephthali, where our Lord
began to preach, Matt. 4.13, etc.

67:28. There is Benjamin a youth, in ecstasy of mind. The princes of
Juda are their leaders: the princes of Zabulon, the princes of
Nephthali.

67:29. Command thy strength, O God confirm, O God, what thou hast
wrought in us.

Command thy strength. . .Give orders that thy strength may be always with
us.

67:30. From thy temple in Jerusalem, kings shall offer presents to
thee.

67:31. Rebuke the wild beasts of the reeds, the congregation of bulls
with the kine of the people; who seek to exclude them who are tried
with silver. Scatter thou the nations that delight in wars:

Rebuke the wild beasts of the reeds. . .or the wild beasts, which lie
hid in the reeds. That is, the devils, who hide themselves in order to
surprise their prey. Or by wild beasts, are here understood
persecutors, who, for all their attempts against the Church, are but as
weak reeds, which cannot prevail against them who are supported by the
strength of the Almighty. The same are also called the congregation of
bulls (from their rage against the Church) who assemble together all
their kine, that is, the people their subjects, to exclude if they can,
from Christ and his inheritance, his constant confessors, who are like
silver tried by fire.

67:32. Ambassadors shall come out of Egypt: Ethiopia shall soon stretch
out her hands to God.

Ambassadors shall come, etc. . .It is a prophecy of the conversion of
the Gentiles, and by name of the Egyptians and Ethiopians.

67:33. Sing to God, ye kingdoms of the earth: sing ye to the Lord: Sing
ye to God,

67:34. Who mounteth above the heaven of heavens, to the east. Behold he
will give to his voice the voice of power:

To the east. . .From mount Olivet, which is on the east side of
Jerusalem.--Ibid. The voice of power. . .That is, he will make his voice
to be a powerful voice: by calling from death to life, such as were
dead in mortal sin: as at the last day he will by the power of his
voice call all the dead from their graves.

67:35. Give ye glory to God for Israel, his magnificence, and his power
is in the clouds.

67:36. God is wonderful in his saints: the God of Israel is he who will
give power and strength to his people. Blessed be God.



Psalms Chapter 68


Salvum me fac, Deus.

Christ in his passion declareth the greatness of his sufferings, and
the malice of his persecutors the Jews; and foretelleth their
reprobation.

68:1. Unto the end, for them that shall be changed; for David.

For them that shall be changed. . .A psalm for Christian converts, to
remember the passion of Christ.

68:2. Save me, O God: for the waters are come in even unto my soul.

The waters. . .Of afflictions and sorrows. My soul is sorrowful even
unto death. Matt. 26.38.

68:3. I stick fast in the mire of the deep and there is no sure
standing. I am come into the depth of the sea, and a tempest hath
overwhelmed me.

68:4. I have laboured with crying; my jaws are become hoarse, my eyes
have failed, whilst I hope in my God.

68:5. They are multiplied above the hairs of my head, who hate me
without cause. My enemies are grown strong who have wrongfully
persecuted me: then did I pay that which I took not away.

I pay that which I took not away. . .Christ in his passion made
restitution of what he had not taken away, by suffering the punishment
due to our sins, and so repairing the injury we had done to God.

68:6. O God, thou knowest my foolishness; and my offences are not
hidden from thee:

My foolishness and my offences. . .which my enemies impute to me: or the
follies and sins of men, which I have taken upon myself.

68:7. Let not them be ashamed for me, who look for thee, O Lord, the
Lord of hosts. Let them not be confounded on my account, who seek thee,
O God of Israel.

68:8. Because for thy sake I have borne reproach; shame hath covered my
face.

68:9. I am become a stranger to my brethren, and an alien to the sons
of my mother.

68:10. For the zeal of thy house hath eaten me up: and the reproaches
of them that reproached thee are fallen upon me.

68:11. And I covered my soul in fasting: and it was made a reproach to
me.

68:12. And I made haircloth my garment: and I became a byword to them.

68:13. They that sat in the gate spoke against me: and they that drank
wine made me their song.

68:14. But as for me, my prayer is to thee, O Lord; for the time of thy
good pleasure, O God. In the multitude of thy mercy hear me, in the
truth of thy salvation.

68:15. Draw me out of the mire, that I may not stick fast: deliver me
from them that hate me, and out of the deep waters.

68:16. Let not the tempest of water drown me, nor the deep water
swallow me up: and let not the pit shut her mouth upon me.

68:17. Hear me, O Lord, for thy mercy is kind; look upon me according
to the multitude of thy tender mercies.

68:18. And turn not away thy face from thy servant: for I am in
trouble, hear me speedily.

68:19. Attend to my soul, and deliver it: save me because of my
enemies.

68:20. Thou knowest my reproach, and my confusion, and my shame.

68:21. In thy sight are all they that afflict me; my heart hath
expected reproach and misery. And I looked for one that would grieve
together with me, but there was none: and for one that would comfort
me, and I found none.

68:22. And they gave me gall for my food, and in my thirst they gave me
vinegar to drink.

68:23. Let their table become as a snare before them, and a recompense,
and a stumblingblock.

Let their table, etc. . .What here follows in the style of an
imprecation, is a prophecy of the wretched state to which the Jews
should be reduced in punishment of their wilful obstinacy.

68:24. Let their eyes be darkened that they see not; and their back
bend thou down always.

68:25. Pour out thy indignation upon them: and let thy wrathful anger
take hold of them.

68:26. Let their habitation be made desolate: and let there be none to
dwell in their tabernacles.

68:27. Because they have persecuted him whom thou hast smitten; and
they have added to the grief of my wounds.

68:28. Add thou iniquity upon their iniquity: and let them not come
into thy justice.

68:29. Let them be blotted out of the book of the living; and with the
just let them not be written.

68:30. But I am poor and sorrowful: thy salvation, O God, hath set me
up.

68:31. I will praise the name of God with a canticle: and I will
magnify him with praise.

68:32. And it shall please God better than a young calf, that bringeth
forth horns and hoofs.

68:33. Let the poor see and rejoice: seek ye God, and your soul shall
live.

68:34. For the Lord hath heard the poor: and hath not despised his
prisoners.

68:35. Let the heavens and the earth praise him; the sea, and every
thing that creepeth therein.

68:36. For God will save Sion, and the cities of Juda shall be built
up. And they shall dwell there, and acquire it by inheritance.

Sion. . .The catholic church. The cities of Juda, etc., her places of
worship, which shall be established throughout the world. And there,
viz., in this church of Christ, shall his servants dwell, etc.

68:37. And the seed of his servants shall possess it; and they that
love his name shall dwell therein.



Psalms Chapter 69


Deus in adjutorium.

A prayer in persecution.

69:1. Unto the end, a psalm for David, to bring to remembrance that the
Lord saved him.

69:2. O God, come to my assistance; O Lord, make haste to help me.

69:3. Let them be confounded and ashamed that seek my soul:

69:4. Let them be turned backward, and blush for shame that desire
evils to me: Let them be presently turned away blushing for shame that
say to me: 'Tis well, 'tis well.

'T is well, 't is well. . .Euge, euge. St. Jerome renders it, vah, vah!
which is the voice of one insulting and deriding. Some understand it as
a detestation of deceitful flatterers.

69:5. Let all that seek thee rejoice and be glad in thee; and let such
as love thy salvation say always: The Lord be magnified.

69:6. But I am needy and poor; O God, help me. Thou art my helper and
my deliverer: O lord, make no delay.



Psalms Chapter 70


In te, Domine.

A prayer for perseverance.

70:1. A psalm for David. Of the sons of Jonadab, and the former
captives. In thee, O Lord, I have hoped, let me never be put to
confusion:

Of the sons of Jonadab. . .The Rechabites, of whom see Jer. 35. By this
addition of the seventy-two interpreters, we gather that this psalm was
usually sung in the synagogue, in the person of the Rechabites, and of
those who were first carried away into captivity.

70:2. Deliver me in thy justice, and rescue me. Incline thy ear unto
me, and save me.

70:3. Be thou unto me a God, a protector, and a place of strength: that
thou mayst make me safe. For thou art my firmament and my refuge.

70:4. Deliver me, O my God, out of the hand of the sinner, and out of
the hand of the transgressor of the law and of the unjust.

70:5. For thou art my patience, O Lord: my hope, O Lord, from my youth.

70:6. By thee have I been confirmed from the womb: from my mother's
womb thou art my protector. Of thee I shall continually sing:

70:7. I am become unto many as a wonder, but thou art a strong helper.

70:8. Let my mouth be filled with praise, that I may sing thy glory;
thy greatness all the day long.

70:9. Cast me not off in the time of old age: when my strength shall
fail, do not thou forsake me.

70:10. For my enemies have spoken against me; and they that watched my
soul have consulted together,

70:11. Saying: God hath forsaken him: pursue and take him, for there is
none to deliver him.

70:12. O God, be not thou far from me: O my God, make haste to my help.

70:13. Let them be confounded and come to nothing that detract my soul;
let them be covered with confusion and blame that seek my hurt.

70:14. But I will always hope; and will add to all thy praise.

70:15. My mouth shall shew forth thy justice; thy salvation all the day
long. Because I have not known learning,

Learning. . .As much as to say, I build not upon human learning, but
only on the power and justice of God.

70:16. I will enter into the powers of the Lord: O Lord, I will be
mindful of thy justice alone.

70:17. Thou hast taught me, O God, from my youth: and till now I will
declare thy wonderful works.

70:18. And unto old age and grey hairs: O God, forsake me not, Until I
shew forth thy arm to all the generation that is to come: Thy power,

70:19. And thy justice, O God, even to the highest great things thou
hast done: O God, who is like to thee?

70:20. How great troubles hast thou shewn me, many and grievous: and
turning thou hast brought me to life, and hast brought me back again
from the depths of the earth:

70:21. Thou hast multiplied thy magnificence; and turning to me thou
hast comforted me.

70:22. For I will also confess to thee thy truth with the instruments
of psaltery: O God, I will sing to thee with the harp, thou holy one of
Israel.

70:23. My lips shall greatly rejoice, when I shall sing to thee; and my
soul which thou hast redeemed.

70:24. Yea and my tongue shall meditate on thy justice all the day;
when they shall be confounded and put to shame that seek evils to me.



Psalms Chapter 71


Deus, judicium tuum.

A prophecy of the coming of Christ, and of his kingdom: prefigured by
Solomon and his happy reign.

71:1. A psalm on Solomon.

71:2. Give to the king thy judgment, O God, and to the king's son thy
justice: To judge thy people with justice, and thy poor with judgment.

71:3. Let the mountains receive peace for the people: and the hills
justice.

71:4. He shall judge the poor of the people, and he shall save the
children of the poor: and he shall humble the oppressor.

71:5. And he shall continue with the sun and before the moon,
throughout all generations.

71:6. He shall come down like rain upon the fleece; and as showers
falling gently upon the earth.

71:7. In his days shall justice spring up, and abundance of peace, till
the moon be taken away.

71:8. And he shall rule from sea to sea, and from the river unto the
ends of the earth.

71:9. Before him the Ethiopians shall fall down: and his enemies shall
lick the ground.

71:10. The kings of Tharsis and the islands shall offer presents: the
kings of the Arabians and of Saba shall bring gifts:

71:11. And all kings of the earth shall adore him: all nations shall
serve him.

71:12. For he shall deliver the poor from the mighty: and the needy
that had no helper.

71:13. He shall spare the poor and needy: and he shall save the souls
of the poor.

71:14. He shall redeem their souls from usuries and iniquity: and their
names shall be honourable in his sight.

71:15. And he shall live, and to him shall be given of the gold of
Arabia, for him they shall always adore: they shall bless him all the
day.

71:16. And there shall be a firmament on the earth on the tops of
mountains, above Libanus shall the fruit thereof be exalted: and they
of the city shall flourish like the grass of the earth.

A firmament on the earth, etc. . .This may be understood of the church
of Christ, ever firm and visible: and of the flourishing condition of
its congregation.

71:17. Let his name be blessed for evermore: his name continueth before
the sun. And in him shall all the tribes of the earth be blessed: all
nations shall magnify him.

71:18. Blessed be the Lord, the God of Israel, who alone doth wonderful
things.

71:19. And blessed be the name of his majesty for ever: and the whole
earth shall be filled with his majesty. So be it. So be it.

71:20. The praises of David, the son of Jesse, are ended.

Are ended. . .By this it appears that this psalm, though placed here,
was in order of time the last of those which David composed.



Psalms Chapter 72


Quam bonus Israel Deus.

The temptation of the weak, upon seeing the prosperity of the wicked,
is overcome by the consideration of the justice of God, who will
quickly render to every one according to his works.

72:1. A psalm for Asaph. How good is God to Israel, to them that are of
a right heart!

72:2. But my feet were almost moved; my steps had well nigh slipped.

72:3. Because I had a zeal on occasion of the wicked, seeing the
prosperity of sinners.

72:4. For there is no regard to their death, nor is there strength in
their stripes.

72:5. They are not in the labour of men: neither shall they be scourged
like other men.

72:6. Therefore pride hath held them fast: they are covered with their
iniquity and their wickedness.

72:7. Their iniquity hath come forth, as it were from fatness: they
have passed into the affection of the heart.

Fatness. . .Abundance and temporal prosperity, which hath encouraged
them in their iniquity: and made them give themselves up to their
irregular affections.

72:8. They have thought and spoken wickedness: they have spoken
iniquity on high.

72:9. They have set their mouth against heaven: and their tongue hath
passed through the earth.

72:10. Therefore will my people return here and full days shall be
found in them.

Return here. . .or hither. The weak among the servants of God, will be
apt often to return to this thought, and will be shocked when they
consider the full days, that is, the long and prosperous life of the
wicked; and will be tempted to make the reflections against providence
which are set down in the following verses.

72:11. And they said: How doth God know? and is there knowledge in the
most High?

72:12. Behold these are sinners; and yet, abounding in the world they
have obtained riches.

72:13. And I said: Then have I in vain justified my heart, and washed
my hands among the innocent.

72:14. And I have been scourged all the day; and my chastisement hath
been in the mornings.

72:15. If I said: I will speak thus; behold I should condemn the
generation of thy children.

If I said, etc. . .That is, if I should indulge such thoughts as these.

72:16. I studied that I might know this thing, it is a labour in my
sight:

72:17. Until I go into the sanctuary of God, and understand concerning
their last ends.

72:18. But indeed for deceits thou hast put it to them: when they were
lifted up thou hast cast them down.

Thou hast put it to them. . .In punishment of their deceits, or for
deceiving them, thou hast brought evils upon them in their last end,
which, in their prosperity they never apprehended.

72:19. How are they brought to desolation? they have suddenly ceased to
be: they have perished by reason of their iniquity.

72:20. As the dream of them that awake, O Lord; so in thy city thou
shalt bring their image to nothing.

72:21. For my heart hath been inflamed, and my reins have been changed:

72:22. And I am brought to nothing, and I knew not.

72:23. I am become as a beast before thee: and I am always with thee.

72:24. Thou hast held me by my right hand; and by thy will thou hast
conducted me, and with thy glory thou hast received me.

72:25. For what have I in heaven? and besides thee what do I desire
upon earth?

72:26. For thee my flesh and my heart hath fainted away: thou art the
God of my heart, and the God that is my portion for ever.

72:27. For behold they that go far from thee shall perish: thou hast
destroyed all them that are disloyal to thee.

72:28. But it is good for me to adhere to my God, to put my hope in the
Lord God: That I may declare all thy praises, in the gates of the
daughter of Sion.



Psalms Chapter 73


Ut quid, Deus.

A prayer of the church under grievous persecutions.

73:1. Understanding for Asaph. O God, why hast thou cast us off unto
the end: why is thy wrath enkindled against the sheep of thy pasture?

73:2. Remember thy congregation, which thou hast possessed from the
beginning. The sceptre of thy inheritance which thou hast redeemed:
mount Sion in which thou hast dwelt.

73:3. Lift up thy hands against their pride unto the end; see what
things the enemy hath done wickedly in the sanctuary.

73:4. And they that hate thee have made their boasts, in the midst of
thy solemnity. They have set up their ensigns for signs,

Their ensigns, etc. . .They have fixed their colours for signs and
trophies, both on the gates, and on the highest top of the temple: and
they knew not, that is, they regarded not the sanctity of the place.
This psalm manifestly foretells the time of the Machabees, and the
profanation of the temple by Antiochus.

73:5. And they knew not both in the going out and on the highest top.
As with axes in a wood of trees,

73:6. They have cut down at once the gates thereof, with axe and
hatchet they have brought it down.

73:7. They have set fire to thy sanctuary: they have defiled the
dwelling place of thy name on the earth.

73:8. They said in their heart, the whole kindred of them together: Let
us abolish all the festival days of God from the land.

73:9. Our signs we have not seen, there is now no prophet: and he will
know us no more.

73:10. How long, O God, shall the enemy reproach: is the adversary to
provoke thy name for ever?

73:11. Why dost thou turn away thy hand: and thy right hand out of the
midst of thy bosom for ever?

73:12. But God is our king before ages: he hath wrought salvation in
the midst of the earth.

73:13. Thou by thy strength didst make the sea firm: thou didst crush
the heads of the dragons in the waters.

The sea firm. . .By making the waters of the Red Sea stand like firm
walls, whilst Israel passed through: and destroying the Egyptians
called here dragons from their cruelty, in the same waters, with their
king: casting up their bodies on the shore to be stripped by the
Ethiopians inhabiting in those days the coast of Arabia.

73:14. Thou hast broken the heads of the dragon: thou hast given him to
be meat for the people of the Ethiopians.

73:15. Thou hast broken up the fountains and the torrents: thou hast
dried up the Ethan rivers.

Ethan rivers. . .That is, rivers which run with strong streams. This was
verified in Jordan, Jos. 3, and in Arnon, Num. 21.14.

73:16. Thine is the day, and thine is the night: thou hast made the
morning light and the sun.

73:17. Thou hast made all the borders of the earth: the summer and the
spring were formed by thee.

73:18. Remember this, the enemy hath reproached the Lord: and a foolish
people hath provoked thy name.

73:19. Deliver not up to beasts the souls that confess to thee: and
forget not to the end the souls of thy poor.

73:20. Have regard to thy covenant: for they that are the obscure of
the earth have been filled with dwellings of iniquity.

The obscure of the earth. . .Mean and ignoble wretches have been filled,
that is, enriched, with houses of iniquity, that is, with our estates
and possessions, which they have unjustly acquired.

73:21. Let not the humble be turned away with confusion: the poor and
needy shall praise thy name.

73:22. Arise, O God, judge thy own cause: remember thy reproaches with
which the foolish man hath reproached thee all the day.

73:23. Forget not the voices of thy enemies: the pride of them that
hate thee ascendeth continually.



Psalms Chapter 74


Confitebimur tibi.

There is a just judgment to come: therefore let the wicked take care.

74:1. Unto the end, corrupt not, a psalm of a canticle for Asaph.

Corrupt not. . .It is believed to have been the beginning of some ode or
hymn, to the tune of which this psalm was to be sung. St. Augustine and
other fathers take it to be an admonition of the spirit of God, not to
faint or fail in our hope: but to persevere with constancy in good:
because God will not fail in his due time to render to every man
according to his works.

74:2. We will praise thee, O God: we will praise, and we will call upon
thy name. We will relate thy wondrous works:

74:3. When I shall take a time, I will judge justices.

When I shall take a time. . .In proper times: particularly at the last
day, when the earth shall melt away at the presence of the great Judge:
the same who originally laid the foundations of it, and as it were
established its pillars.

74:4. The earth is melted, and all that dwell therein: I have
established the pillars thereof.

74:5. I said to the wicked: Do not act wickedly: and to the sinners:
Lift not up the horn.

74:6. Lift not up your horn on high: speak not iniquity against God.

74:7. For neither from the east, nor from the west, nor from the desert
hills:

74:8. For God is the judge. One he putteth down, and another he lifteth
up:

74:9. For in the hand of the Lord there is a cup of strong wine full of
mixture. And he hath poured it out from this to that: but the dregs
thereof are not emptied: all the sinners of the earth shall drink.

74:10. But I will declare for ever: I will sing to the God of Jacob.

74:11. And I will break all the horns of sinners: but the horns of the
just shall be exalted.



Psalms Chapter 75


Notus in Judaea.

God is known in his church: and exerts his power in protecting it. It
alludes to the slaughter of the Assyrians, in the days of king
Ezechias.

75:1. Unto the end, in praises, a psalm for Asaph: a canticle to the
Assyrians.

75:2. In Judea God is known: his name is great in Israel.

75:3. And his place is in peace: and his abode in Sion:

75:4. There hath he broken the powers of bows, the shield, the sword,
and the battle.

75:5. Thou enlightenest wonderfully from the everlasting hills.

75:6. All the foolish of heart were troubled. They have slept their
sleep; and all the men of riches have found nothing in their hands.

75:7. At thy rebuke, O God of Jacob, they have all slumbered that
mounted on horseback.

75:8. Thou art terrible, and who shall resist thee? from that time thy
wrath.

From that time, etc. . .From the time that thy wrath shall break out.

75:9. Thou hast caused judgment to be heard from heaven: the earth
trembled and was still,

75:10. When God arose in judgment, to save all the meek of the earth.

75:11. For the thought of man shall give praise to thee: and the
remainders of the thought shall keep holiday to thee.

75:12. Vow ye, and pay to the Lord your God: all you that are round
about him bring presents. To him that is terrible,

75:13. Even to him who taketh away the spirit of princes: to the
terrible with the kings of the earth.



Psalms Chapter 76


Voce mea.

The faithful have recourse to God in trouble of mind, with confidence
in his mercy and power.

76:1. Unto the end, for Idithun, a psalm of Asaph.

76:2. I cried to the Lord with my voice; to God with my voice, and he
gave ear to me.

76:3. In the days of my trouble I sought God, with my hands lifted up
to him in the night, and I was not deceived. My soul refused to be
comforted:

76:4. I remembered God, and was delighted, and was exercised, and my
spirit swooned away.

76:5. My eyes prevented the watches: I was troubled, and I spoke not.

76:6. I thought upon the days of old: and I had in my mind the eternal
years.

76:7. And I meditated in the night with my own heart: and I was
exercised and I swept my spirit.

76:8. Will God then cast off for ever? or will he never be more
favourable again?

76:9. Or will he cut off his mercy for ever, from generation to
generation?

76:10. Or will God forget to shew mercy? or will he in his anger shut
up his mercies?

76:11. And I said, Now have I begun: this is the change of the right
hand of the most High.

76:12. I remembered the works of the Lord: for I will be mindful of thy
wonders from the beginning.

76:13. And I will meditate on all thy works: and will be employed in
thy inventions.

76:14. Thy way, O God, is in the holy place: who is the great God like
our God?

76:15. Thou art the God that dost wonders. Thou hast made thy power
known among the nations:

76:16. With thy arm thou hast redeemed thy people the children of Jacob
and of Joseph.

76:17. The waters saw thee, O God, the waters saw thee: and they were
afraid, and the depths were troubled.

76:18. Great was the noise of the waters: the clouds sent out a sound.
For thy arrows pass:

76:19. The voice of thy thunder in a wheel. Thy lightnings enlightened
the world: the earth shook and trembled.

76:20. Thy way is in the sea, and thy paths in many waters: and thy
footsteps shall not be known.

76:21. Thou hast conducted thy people like sheep, by the hand of Moses
and Aaron.



Psalms Chapter 77


Attendite.

God's great benefits to the people of Israel, notwithstanding their
ingratitude.

77:1. Understanding for Asaph. Attend, O my people, to my law: incline
your ears to the words of my mouth.

77:2. I will open my mouth in parables: I will utter propositions from
the beginning.

Propositions. . .Deep and mysterious sayings. By this it appears that
the historical facts of ancient times, commemorated in this psalm, were
deep and mysterious: as being figures of great truths appertaining to
the time of the New Testament.

77:3. How great things have we heard and known, and our fathers have
told us.

77:4. They have not been hidden from their children, in another
generation. Declaring the praises of the Lord, and his powers, and his
wonders which he hath done.

77:5. And he set up a testimony in Jacob: and made a law in Israel. How
great things he commanded our fathers, that they should make the same
known to their children:

77:6. That another generation might know them. The children that should
be born and should rise up, and declare them to their children.

77:7. That they may put their hope in God and may not forget the works
of God: and may seek his commandments.

77:8. That they may not become like their fathers, a perverse and
exasperating generation. A generation that set not their heart aright:
and whose spirit was not faithful to God.

77:9. The sons of Ephraim who bend and shoot with the bow: they have
turned back in the day of battle.

77:10. They kept not the covenant of God: and in his law they would not
walk.

77:11. And they forgot his benefits, and his wonders that he had shewn
them.

77:12. Wonderful things did he do in the sight of their fathers, in the
land of Egypt, in the field of Tanis.

77:13. He divided the sea and brought them through: and he made the
waters to stand as in a vessel.

77:14. And he conducted them with a cloud by day: and all the night
with a light of fire.

77:15. He struck the rock in the wilderness: and gave them to drink, as
out of the great deep.

77:16. He brought forth water out of the rock: and made streams run
down as rivers.

77:17. And they added yet more sin against him: they provoked the most
High to wrath in the place without water.

77:18. And they tempted God in their hearts, by asking meat for their
desires.

77:19. And they spoke ill of God: they said: Can God furnish a table in
the wilderness?

77:20. Because he struck the rock, and the waters gushed out, and the
streams overflowed. Can he also give bread, or provide a table for his
people?

77:21. Therefore the Lord heard, and was angry: and a fire was kindled
against Jacob, and wrath came up against Israel.

77:22. Because they believed not in God: and trusted not in his
salvation.

77:23. And he had commanded the clouds from above, and had opened the
doors of heaven.

77:24. And had rained down manna upon them to eat, and had given them
the bread of heaven.

77:25. Man ate the bread of angels: he sent them provisions in
abundance.

77:26. He removed the south wind from heaven: and by his power brought
in the southwest wind.

77:27. And he rained upon them flesh as dust: and feathered fowls like
as the sand of the sea.

77:28. And they fell in the midst of their camp, round about their
pavilions.

77:29. So they did eat, and were filled exceedingly, and he gave them
their desire:

77:30. they were not defrauded of that which they craved. As yet their
meat was in their mouth:

77:31. And the wrath of God came upon them. And he slew the fat ones
amongst them, and brought down the chosen men of Israel.

77:32. In all these things they sinned still: and they behaved not for
his wondrous works.

77:33. And their days were consumed in vanity, and their years in
haste.

77:34. When he slew them, then they sought him: and they returned, and
came to him early in the morning.

77:35. And they remembered that God was their helper: and the most high
God their redeemer.

77:36. And they loved him with their mouth: and with their tongue they
lied unto him:

77:37. But their heart was not right with him: nor were they counted
faithful in his covenant.

77:38. But he is merciful, and will forgive their sins: and will not
destroy them. And many a time did he turn away his anger: and did not
kindle all his wrath.

77:39. And he remembered that they are flesh: a wind that goeth and
returneth not.

77:40. How often did they provoke him in the desert: and move him to
wrath in the place without water?

77:41. And they turned back and tempted God: and grieved the holy one
of Israel.

77:42. They remembered not his hand, in the day that he redeemed them
from the hand of him that afflicted them:

77:43. How he wrought his signs in Egypt, and his wonders in the field
of Tanis.

77:44. And he turned their rivers into blood, and their showers that
they might not drink.

77:45. He sent amongst them divers sorts of flies, which devoured them:
and frogs which destroyed them.

77:46. And he gave up their fruits to the blast, and their labours to
the locust.

77:47. And he destroyed their vineyards with hail, and their mulberry
trees with hoarfrost.

77:48. And he gave up their cattle to the hail, and their stock to the
fire.

77:49. And he sent upon them the wrath of his indignation: indignation
and wrath and trouble, which he sent by evil angels.

77:50. He made a way for a path to his anger: he spared not their souls
from death, and their cattle he shut up in death.

77:51. And he killed all the firstborn in the land of Egypt: the
firstfruits of all their labour in the tabernacles of Cham.

77:52. And he took away his own people as sheep: and guided them in the
wilderness like a flock.

77:53. And he brought them out in hope and they feared not: and the sea
overwhelmed their enemies.

77:54. And he brought them into the mountain of his sanctuary: the
mountain which his right hand had purchased. And he cast out the
Gentiles before them: and by lot divided to them their land by a line
of distribution.

77:55. And he made the tribes of Israel to dwell in their tabernacles.

77:56. Yet they tempted, and provoked the most high God: and they kept
not his testimonies.

77:57. And they turned away, and kept not the covenant: even like their
fathers they were turned aside as a crooked bow.

77:58. They provoked him to anger on their hills: and moved him to
jealousy with their graven things.

77:59. God heard, and despised them, and he reduced Israel exceedingly
as it were to nothing.

77:60. And he put away the tabernacle of Silo, his tabernacle where he
dwelt among men.

77:61. And he delivered their strength into captivity: and their beauty
into the hands of the enemy.

77:62. And he shut up his people under the sword: and he despised his
inheritance.

77:63. Fire consumed their young men: and their maidens were not
lamented.

77:64. Their priests fell by the sword: and their widows did not mourn.

77:65. And the Lord was awaked as one out of sleep, and like a mighty
man that hath been surfeited with wine.

77:66. And he smote his enemies on the hinder parts: he put them to an
everlasting reproach.

77:67. And he rejected the tabernacle of Joseph: and chose not the
tribe of Ephraim:

77:68. But he chose the tribe of Juda, mount Sion which he loved.

77:69. And he built his sanctuary as of unicorns, in the land which he
founded for ever.

As of unicorns. . .That is, firm and strong like the horn of the
unicorn. This is one of the chiefest of the propositions of this psalm,
foreshewing the firm establishment of the one, true, and everlasting
sanctuary of God, in his church.

77:70. And he chose his servant David, and took him from the flocks of
sheep: he brought him from following the ewes great with young,

77:71. To feed Jacob his servant and Israel his inheritance.

77:72. And he fed them in the innocence of his heart: and conducted
them by the skilfulness of his hands.



Psalms Chapter 78


Deus, venerunt gentes.

The church in time of persecution prayeth for relief. It seems to
belong to the time of the Machabees.

78:1. A psalm for Asaph. O God, the heathens are come into thy
inheritance, they have defiled thy holy temple: they have made
Jerusalem as a place to keep fruit.

78:2. They have given the dead bodies of thy servants to be meat for
the fowls of the air: the flesh of thy saints for the beasts of the
earth.

78:3. They have poured out their blood as water, round about Jerusalem
and there was none to bury them.

78:4. We are become a reproach to our neighbours: a scorn and derision
to them that are round about us.

78:5. How long, O Lord, wilt thou be angry for ever: shall thy zeal be
kindled like a fire?

78:6. Pour out thy wrath upon the nations that have not known thee: and
upon the kingdoms that have not called upon thy name.

78:7. Because they have devoured Jacob; and have laid waste his place.

78:8. Remember not our former iniquities: let thy mercies speedily
prevent us, for we are become exceeding poor.

78:9. Help us, O God, our saviour: and for the glory of thy name, O


 


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