Trials And Prayer

Scuto circumdabit te veritas ejus. Vigilate et orate, ut non intretis in tentationem. Et quis hoc dixerit, scitis, et tempus scitis: Domini enim est verbum istud instante jam passione sua. Et attendite quoniam ipse quidem erat passurus, et non discipuli: nec tamen pro se dicebat orandum, sed pro illis. Unde ad Petrum ait: Ecce Satanas expetivit vos ut cribraret sicut triticum: ego autem rogavi pro te, ut non deficiat fides tua; et tu aliquando conversus confirma fratres tuos. Si tantum illos oportebat timere in passione Domini, quantum nobis timendum est, fratres, in passione nostra? Vigilate proinde et orate, ut non intretis in tentationem, quoniam undique circumdati estis tentationibus. Unde et legistis quia tentatio est vita hominis super terram. Itaque si tot tentationibus plena est vita nostra, ut non immerito tota ipsa tentatio debeat appellari; pervigili circumspectione opus est et oratione, ne inducamur in eam: unde est et illud in oratione Dominica, Et ne nos inducas in tentationem. Quia ergo undique sic circumdatus es tentationibus, scuto circumdabit te veritas ejus, ut, quemadmodum undique bella, ita undique sint et praesidia. In quo et omnino illud manifestum est, spirituale scutum esse oportere quod circumdare potest. Sanctus Bernardus Clarae Vallensis, Sermones De Tempore, In Psalmo Qui Habitat..., Sermo V. De versu quinto, «Scuto circumdabit te veritas ejus. Source: Migne PL 183.195d-196b

He shall surround you with the shield of His truth. 1 'Watch and pray so that you do not enter into temptation.' 2 You know who says this and the time at which it was said, for it is the speech of the Lord when His passion was imminent. And see that He was about to suffer and not the disciples yet he told them that they must pray and for themselves. Hence He says to Peter, 'Behold, Satan has desired to have you that he might sift you like wheat, but I have prayed for you, that your faith might not fail and you might turn and strengthen your brothers.' 3 If it was necessary for them to fear during the passion of the Lord, how much more should we fear, brothers, in our own passion. Thus watch and pray, that you do not enter into temptation, because we are surrounded by temptation on all sides. Hence you read that the life of man on the earth is a trial. 4 Thus our lives are full of all trials, so that it is not underserving of being named a complete trial, for which reason prudent vigilance and prayer is required, that we do not enter into temptation, and hence it says in the Lord's prayer, 'Do not lead is into temptation.' 5 Because, then, you are surrounded on all sides by temptation, He shall surround you with the shield of His truth, so that as there is war everywhere so His protection is everywhere. In which it is plainly made manifest, it is necessary to have this spiritual shield which is able to surround us. Saint Bernard of Clairvaux, Sermons For The Year, On The Psalm 'He who dwells...' from Sermon 5, On the fifth verse, 'He shall surround you with the shield of his truth.' 1 Ps 90.5 2 Mk 14.38 3 Lk 22.31-32 4 Job 7.1 5 Mt 6.13

Building And Guarding

Haec cantica, ut saepe diximus, ascendentium sunt. Qualiter ascendentium? Scilicet amando Deum. Qui Deum amat, ascendit; qui saeculum amat, cadit. Sed hujus psalmi titulo additum est: Canticum Graduum Salomonis. Videamus, cur nomen Salomonis in hoc tantummodo [loco] additum sit. Salomon interpretatur pacificus. Quis [est] iste pacificus, nisi verus Salomon Dominus noster Jesus Christus, qui coelestia et terrestria pacificavit in sanguine suo, et fecit utraque unum, duos sibi parietes conjungens in seipso, summo angulari lapide. Nam Ecclesia de duobus populis, id est, circumcisionis et praeputii copulavit in unum ovile, ut sit unus pastor et unum ovile. De isto vero Salomone in capite hujus psalmi dicitur: Nisi Dominus aedificaverit domum, in vanum laborant, qui aedificant eam. Nisi Dominus aedificet Ecclesiam absque macula et ruga, in vanum laborat omnis praedicator. Qui sunt qui in vanum laborant, nisi haeretici qui laborant Ecclesiam congregare, sed absque Domino; ideo vanum est opus illorum. Ex quo populus fidelis aedificatus est, custos est ipsius Dominus noster Jesus Christus, qui aedificat, qui conservat, qui protegit, qui remunerat; ille solus in omnibus et aedificator et custos. Ideo dixit in sequenti versu: Nisi Dominus custodierit civitatem, frustra vigilat qui custodit eam. Ista est civitas, de qua saepius in his Graduum psalmis cantatur, spiritalis utique Jerusalem. Alcuinus, Expositio in Psalmos Graduales, Psalmus CXXVI Source: Migne PL 100.628b-d

These songs, as we have often said, are songs of ascent. In what way are they ascents? By loving God. He who loves God, he ascends, and he who loves the world, he falls. But to the title of this Psalm has been added, 'A song of ascent, by Solomon.' Let us see why the name of Solomon has been added in this place only. Solomon is translated as peaceful. Who is this peace but the true Solomon our Lord Jesus Christ, who pacified heaven and earth with His own blood, and made two one, joining the two parts in Himself, He who is the best cornerstone. For the Church is from two peoples, that is, He binds into one flock the people of the circumcision and the uncircumcision, so that there may be one shepherd and one flock. At the beginning of this Psalm it is said of this true Solomon, Unless the Lord shall build the house, they labour in vain who build it. 1 Unless the Lord builds the Church without spot or wrinkle, every preacher labours in vain. Who are those who labour in vain but the heretics who toil to gather their church, but without the Lord, and therefore their work is in vain. It has been built up from a faithful people, and its guardian is our Lord Jesus Christ, He who builds, He who preserves, He who protects, and He who rewards. He alone among everyone is the builder and guardian. Therefore it is said in the following line, 'Unless the Lord guards the city, they who watch guard it in vain.' This is the city which is often sung about in the Psalms of ascent, which is the spiritual Jerusalem. Alcuin of York, Commentary on the Gradual Psalms, from Psalm 126 1 Ps 126.1 2 Mt 7.24-27 3 Isaiah 2.2

Trials And Salvation

Kύριε τί ἐπληθύνθησαν οἱ θλίβοντές, με πολλοὶ ἐπανίστανται ἐν ἐμέ, πολλοὶ λέγουσιν τῇ ψυχῇ μου οὐκ ἔστιν σωτηρία αὐτῷ ἐν τῷ θεῷ αὐτοῦ. ᾿Αφίησι δὲ Θεὸς πολλοὺς θλίβειν τὸν δίκαιον, διδοὺς ἀφορμὴν αὐτῷ βάρους δόξης, ἀπὸ τῶν ὑπερβαλλουσῶν θλίψεων ὑφισταμένης· καὶ εἴ ποτε ὁ δίκαιος ἐπαπορῶν λέγοι τῷ Θεῷ· Κύριε, τί ἐπληθύνθησαν οἱ θλίβοντές με; ἔτι αὐτοῦ λαλοῦντος, εἰπὼν, Ἰδοὺ πάρειμι, ἀποκρίνεται, ἵνα βάρος δόξης ἐργάσηταί σοι τὸ παραυτίκα ἐλαφρὸν τῆς θλίψεως· καθ ' ὑπερβολήν. Διό· Πολλαὶ αἱ θλίψεις τῶν δικαίων. Εἰ δὲ ἐστι σωτηρία μὲν οὐκ ἐν τῷ Θεῷ, Δαυΐδ τοῖς τέως πρόσκειται τὸ· ἐν τῷ Θεῷ. Δίδυμος Αλεξανδρεύς, Εἰς Ψαλμούς, Ψαλμος Γ' Source: Migne PG 39.1161d-1164a

Lord, those who trouble me are multiplied, and many set themselves against me, and many say to my soul there is no salvation for him in God. 1 God allows many to afflict the righteous man in order to give an occasion for the acquisition of a great weight of glory, which is obtained from a mass of tribulations. And if sometimes the righteous man who is gravely oppressed says to God, 'Lord, why are those who trouble me multiplied?' He replies, 'Behold, I am here, 2 your great weight of glory will make this tribulation light,' which is hyperbolic. Hence it is said, 'Many are the tribulations of the righteous.' 3 And that there is no salvation but from God, therefore David adds 'in God' Didymus the Blind, Commentary on The Psalms, from Psalm 3 1 Ps 3.2-3 2 Isaiah 52.6, 2 Cor 4.17 3 Ps 33.20

Brightening The Eyes

Praeceptum Domini lucidum, illuminans oculos Revera lucidum, quia sincere purun el immaculatum, quale a Patre luminum prodire docet. Hoc iliuminat oculos, non istos carnales quos et pecora nobiscum possunt habere communes, sed illos utique interiores qui divino munere spiritualiter clarificantur. Cassiodorus, Expositio In Psalterium, Psalmus XVIII Source: Migne PL 70.141a

The commandment of the Lord is bright, illuminating the eyes. 1 Truly bright, he teaches, because perfectly pure and immaculate, as from the Father of lights. 2 This illuminates the eyes, but not the carnal eyes, not those which animals have in common with us, but those interior ones which are spiritually brightened by the Divine gift. Cassiodorus, Commentary On The Psalms, from Psalm 18 1 Ps 18.9 2 James 1.17

Remembering Goods Done

Εἰς τὸν αἰῶνα οὐ μὴ ἐπιλάθωμαι τῶν δικαιώμάτων σου, ὅτι ἐν αὐτοῖς ἔζησάς με. ᾿Αλλὰ μεμνήσομαι τῶν μαθημάτων σου, ὧν ἔμαθον ἐν τῷ βίῳ· δι' ἐκεῖνα γὰρ ἀπὸ γῆς εἰς οὐρανὸν μετελθὼν οἰκῶ μετ'ἀγγέλων. Ὥσπερ γὰρ ὁ ἐκ μεγάλης νόσου διά τινων ἰατρικῶν βοηθημάτων παγίαν καὶ βεβαίαν ἀναλαβὼν ὑγίειαν δι ' αὐτοῦ τοῦ ὑγιαίνειν καὶ εὐεκτεῖν οὐκ ἐπιλανθάνεται τῶν ἰατρικῶν ἐκείνων οἷς ἠκολούθησε τὸ οὕτως αὐτὸν μετ᾿ εὐεξίας ὑγιαίνειν· οὗτως ὁ ἅγιος οὗτος, ὑπὸ Θεοῦ ζωοποιηθεὶς ἐν οἷς ἔσχε παρ' αὐτοῦ δικαιώμασι λέγει παρ' ὅλον τὸν αἰῶνα μὴ ἐπιλανθάνεσθαι αὐτῶν, ἀποδιδοὺς τὴν αἰτίαν, τὸ ἐν αὐτοῖς τὸν Θεὸν αὐτὸν ἐζηκέναι. Εὐσέβιος ὁ Καισάρειος, Ὑπομνηματα Ἐις Τους Ψαλμους, Ψαλμὸς ΡΙH' Source: Migne PG 23.1380c-d

I shall never forget your justifications, because with them you have given me life. 1 But I will remember your teachings which I learnt in life, because through them I pass from earth to heaven and dwell with angels. For as a man who was gravely sick regains firm and stable health by the administration of medicines, and when he is fit and well he does not forget the treatment which brought him health, so this holy one who was revived by the justifications of God says he will never let that be forgotten, and he gives the reason why, because God has given him life with them. Eusebius of Caesarea, Commentary on the Psalms, from Psalm 118 1 Ps 118.93

Testimonies

Testimonium Domini fidele, sapientiam praestans parvulis Hic de Patre dicit: quoniam omnia testimonia quae dedit populo Israelitico, fidelia iitique fucruni, quia plenissima veritate recognita sunt : et sapientiam parvulis praestiterunt, non utique superbis, nec tumida se elatione jactantibus, sed purvulis. Parvuli autem sunl humiles et innocentes, sicut Aposlolus monet: Nolite pueri effici sensibus, sed malitia parvuli estote. Testimonium quoque dat Filius, sicut ad Timotheum ait Apostolus: Praecipio tibi coram Deo , qui vivificat omnia, et Christo Jesu, qui testimonium reddidit syb Pontio Pilato. Idem de Spiritu Sancto dicit Apostolus: Nam et ipse Spiritus testimonum perhibet spiritui nostro. Vides in illa sancta Trinitate, quam nihil Scriptura divina velit minus majusvc sentiri, ut nec ipsa nomina patiatur esse divisa. Cassiodorus, Expositio In Psalterium, Psalmus XVIII Source: Migne PL 70.140c-d

The testimony of the Lord is faithful, giving wisdom to little ones. 1 Here he speaks of the Father, because every testimony which He gave to the people of Israel was faithful, since they were understood as being full with truth, and they gave wisdom to little ones, but not to the proud and the puffed up and those elated with boasting, but to little ones. And these little ones are the humble and the innocent, as the Apostle admonishes, 'Do not be childish in your understanding, but be little ones in wickedness.' 2 The Son also gives testimony, as the Apostle says to Timothy, 'I command you before God, who gives life to all things, and before Jesus Christ, who gave testimony under Pontius Pilate.' 3 The Apostle says the same about the Holy Spirit, 'For even the Spirit Himself gives testimony to our spirit.' 4 See the Holy Trinity in these things which nothing more or less Sacred Scripture wishes to be understood, so that it does not suffer it to be divided with these names. Cassiodorus, Commentary On The Psalms, from Psalm 18 1 Ps 18.8 2 1 Cor 14.20 3 1 Tim 6.13 4 Rom 8.16

Good And Bad Glory

Quid gloriatur in malitia, potens iniquitate tota die? Querela prophetae est, gloriari eum in iniquitate tota die, qui in malitia potens est. Et haec quidem gloria inquitatis arguitur. Caeterum est gloria et expetenda et confitenda, et affectu quodam exsultantis gaudii eloquenda: quod utrumque sub iisdem dictis alius propheta demonstrat, dicens: Non glorietur sapiens in sapientia sua, neque fortis in fortitudine sua, neque dives in divitiis suis: sed qui gloriatur, in Domino glorietur. Vetitis enim primum improbabilis gloriae causis, causam rursum gloriae competentis ostendit. Quo exemplo beatus Apostolus scit, in nullo sibi, nisi in uno tantum esse gloriandum, cum ait: Mihi autem absit gloriari, nisi in cruce Domini nostri Jesu Christi, per quem mihi mundus crucifixus est, et ego mundo. Non ergo gloria istiusmodi, sed gloria iniquitatis offendit; et ejus iniquitatis, quae die tota sit. Diem pro aetate vel tempore hominis nuncupari solere meminimus, cum dicitur: Diem hominis non concupivi: vel rursum cum Abraham diem Domini desideravit: vel cum Apostolus Satanae tradit in interitum carnis, ut spiritus salvus sit in die Domini , non hunc diem ortu solis occasuque finitum, sed diem constituti temporis vel aetatis ostendens. Potens ergo in malitia, gloriatur in iniquitate tota die. Sanctus Hilarius Pictaviensis, Tractatus super Psalmos, Tractatus in Psalmum LI Source: Migne PL 9.311b-312a

Why glory in wickedness, you who are powerful in iniquity the whole day? 1 The prophet complains against the one who glories in wickedness the whole day, he who is powerful in evil, and he disputes this glory of wickedness. There is a glory that should be sought and that should be delighted in and which should be proclaimed with a certain exultant joy, which both things another prophet shows with his words when he says, 'Let the wise man not glory in his wisdom, nor the strong man in his strength, nor the rich man in his riches, but he who glories, let him glory in the Lord.' 2 Having prohibited the shameful causes of glorying, he then revels the fitting cause of glory, which example the blessed Apostle knows, that is, that one should not glory in oneself but in one alone, hence he says, 'Let it not be me for to glory, unless in the cross of Jesus Christ our Lord, through which the world has have been crucified to the me, and I to the world.' 3 It is not glorying in this way that offends, but glorying in iniquity, and his iniquity which is for the whole day, which day we should be aware is given for an age, or for the time of a man, as when it is said, 'I have not desired the day of man,' or again when Abraham desired the day of the Lord, or when the Apostle handed over to Satan for the ruin of the flesh, so that the spirit might be saved on the day of the Lord. 4 It is not this finite day of the sun's rising and setting, but the day that indicates a time or age. Therefore the one powerful in wickedness glories in iniquity the whole day Saint Hilary of Poitiers, Homilies on the Psalms, from Psalm 51 1 Ps 51.3 2 Jerem 9.23-24 3 Galat 6.14 4 Jerem 17.16, Jn 8.56, 1 Cor 5.5

Arrows And Paul

Sagittae tuae acutae, potentissimae... Verba cor transfigentia, amorem excitantia. Unde dicitur in Canticis canticorum: Quia vulnerata caritate ego sum. Dicit enim vulneratam se esse caritate, id est, amare se dicit, aestuare se dicit, suspirare sponso, unde accepit sagittam verbi. Sagittae tuae acutae, potentissimae: et transfigentes, et efficientes: acutae, potentissimae. Populi sub te cadent. Qui ceciderunt? Qui percussi sunt, et ceciderunt. Populos videmus subditos Christo, cadentes non videmus. Exponit ubi cadunt: in corde. Ibi se erigebant adversus Christum, ibi cadunt ante Christum. Blasphemabat Saulus Christum, erectus erat: supplicat Christo, cecidit, prostratus est: occisus est inimicus Christi, ut vivat discipulus Christi. De coelo emissa sagitta, corde percussus est Saulus, nondum Paulus, adhuc Saulus, adhuc erectus, nondum prostratus: accepit sagittam, cecidit in corde. Non enim quod prostratus est in facie, ibi cecidit, sed ubi ait: Domine, quid me iubes facere? Modo ibas ad Christianos alligandos et perducendos ad poenam; et modo dicis Christo: Quid me iubes facere? O sagittam acutam, potentissimam, qua accepta cecidit Saulus ut esset Paulus! Ut ille, ita et populi. Sanctus Augustinus Hipponensi, Enarrationes In Psalmos, Psalm XLIV Source: Migne PL 38.503

Your arrows are sharp and most powerful...1 These are words that pierce the heart, exciting love. Hence it is said in the Song of Songs, 'Because I am wounded with love.' 2 For she says of herself that she is wounded with love, that is, she speaks of her loving, and of being inflamed with sighing for the Bridegroom, from whom she received the arrow of the Word. 'Your arrows are sharp and most powerful.' They are piercing and effective, sharp and most powerful. 'The peoples shall fall under you.' Who have fallen? They who were wounded have also fallen. We see the nations subdued to Christ, but we do not see them fall. He explains where they fall, that is, in the heart. It was there they lifted themselves up against Christ, it is there that they fall down before Christ. Saul blasphemed Christ, then he was lifted up. He prays to Christ, he falls, he is prostrate. The enemy of Christ is slain so that the disciple of Christ may live. By an arrow launched from heaven Saul was stuck in the heart, he who was not yet Paul, but still Saul. When he was still lifted up and still not yet prostrate, he is wounded in the heart. He received the arrow, he fell in his heart. For though he fell prostrate on his face, it was not there that he fell down in his heart, but it was where he said aloud, 'Lord, what do you command me do?' 3 You were just about to bind Christians and lead them off to punishment, and now you say to Christ, 'What do you command me to do?' O sharp and most powerful arrow by whose stroke Saul fell so they he might become Paul. As with him, so with the peoples.  Saint Augustine of Hippo, Expositions On The Psalms, Psalm 44 1 Ps 44.6 2 Song 2.5, 5.8 3 Acts 9.6

Help And Redemption

Et erunt ut complaceant eloquia oris mei: et medilalio cordis mei in conspectu tuo semper. Domine, adiutor meus et redemptor meus. Dicit quando eloquia oris ejus Domino placere praevaleant: videlicet, si a viiiis quae supcrius dixit, reddatur alienus; propter illud quod dicitur peccatori: Quare tu enarras justitias meas? Quae est autem meditatio cordis, quae potest ad Dominum pervenire? Spes, charitas, et fides, quae utique digna sunt Deo. Illa enim merentur in conspectu ejus ascendere, quae ipse cognosciiur approbare. Adjutorem vero suum dicit in bonis, redemptorem a malis, ut nemo suis meritis applicet quod coelesti largitate susceperit. Cassiodorus, Expositio In Psalterium, Psalmus XVIII Source: Migne PL 70.143c

And the speech of my mouth shall be pleasing, and the meditation of my heart shall be in your sight always. O Lord, my helper and my redeemer 1 When he says that the speech of his mouth shall be able to please the Lord, it is because he has been separated utterly from the vices of which he spoke of before, on account of which it is said to the sinner, 'Why do you speak of my righteousness?' 2 And what is the meditation of the heart that is able to come to the Lord? Hope, charity and faith, they are worthy of God, for that merits ascent into His sight which He is known to approve. And he calls Him his helper in good things, and his redeemer from evil things, because no one by the labour of his own merits shall take up the bounty of heaven. Cassiodorus, Commentary On The Psalms, from Psalm 18 1 Ps 18.15 2 Ps 49.16

Trials And Aid

Δεξιὰ Κυρίου ἐποίησε δύναμιν, δεξιὰ Κυρίου ὕψωσέ με, δεξιὰ Κυρίου ἐποίησε δύναμιν. Οὐκ ἀποθανοῦμαι , ἀλλὰ ζήσομαι, καὶ διηγήσομαι τὰ ἔργα Κυρίου. Παιδεύων ἐπαίδευσέ με ὁ Κύριος, τῷ δὲ θανάτῳ οὐ παρέδωκέ με. Ὅτι μὴ εἰς ἄχρηστον οἱ διωγμοί, ἀλλ᾽ ἐπ᾿ ὠφελείᾳ καὶ δοκιμῇ τῶν πεπειρασμένων γεγόνασι, διδάσκει λέγων· Παιδεύων ἐπαίδευσέ με ὁ Κύριος. Ἔγνων γὰρ τὴν ἐμαυτοῦ ἀσθένειαν, καὶ τὴν ἐκ Θεοῦ μοι παρασχεθεῖσαν δύναμιν οὐκ ἠγνόησα. Ἐπαιδεύθην δὲ ὁποία τις ἦν ἡ δεξιὰ τοῦ Κυρίου, ἡ τοὺς πολεμίους ταπεινώσασα. Εὐσέβιος ὁ Καισάρειος, Ὑπομνηματα Ἐις Τους Ψαλμους, Ψαλμὸς ΡΙΖ' Source: Migne PG 23.1364c

The right hand of the Lord makes virtue, the right hand of the Lord has exalted me, the right hand of the Lord makes virtue. I shall not die but live, and I shall speak of the works of the Lord. The Lord chastened me but he did not give me over to death. 1 With these words 'The Lord chastened me,' he teaches that persecutions are not without their value but they have their use for proving amid trials. 'For I knew my weakness and I was not ignorant of the strength supplied by God, and I learnt what the right hand of God might be, that it humbled my adversaries.' Eusebius of Caesarea, Commentary on the Psalms, from Psalm 117 1 Ps 117.16-18

Feet And Paths

Kατάρτισαι τὰ διαβήματά μου ἐν ταῖς τρίβοις σου ἵνα μὴ σαλευθῶσιν τὰ διαβήματά μου Τρίβοι δὲ τοῦ Κυρίου καὶ τῶν ἁγίων αὐτοῦ, αἱ τηρήσεις τῶν ἐντολῶν τυγχάνουσιν, μᾶλλον δὲ αἱ κατ᾿ ἀρετὴν ἐνέργειαι, λεῖαι καὶ ὁμαλαὶ ἀναδειχθεῖσαι, ἐκ τοῦ συνεχῶς πατεῖσθαι πρὸς τῶν σπευδόντων φθάσαι ἐπὶ τὸ τέλος αὐτῶν· τέλος δὲ αὐτῶν ἡ μακαριότης καὶ ἡ τῶν ἐπαγγελιῶν ἀπόδοσίς ἐστιν . Δράμωμεν τοίνυν κατ᾿ αὐτὰς, ἵνα σωτηρίας τύχωμεν· οὐ κλονουμένων τῶν διαβημάτων, τοῦτ᾽ ἔστιν οὐ σφαλλομένων, ὅτ᾽ ἂν ὁ Κύριος ἐν ταῖς τρίβοις αὐτοῦ καταρτίσῃ αὐτά· ὁ ταύτης τῆς αἰτήσεως τυχών, φησίν· ῎Ανευ ἀνομίας ἔδραμον καὶ κατηύθυνα· καὶ τὸ, Ὁδὸν ἐντολῶν σου ἔδραμον, ὅτ᾽ ἂν ἐπλάτυνας τὴνκαρδίαν μου. Δίδυμος Αλεξανδρεύς, Εἰς Ψαλμούς, Ψαλμος ΙϚ' Source: Migne PG 39.1237b

Perfect my feet in your paths, that my steps are not shaken. 1 The paths of the Lord and of his holy ones is holding to the commandments, or rather the doing of things virtuously, and then it is easily and openly shown that from this way of going they are hurried them to their end, which end is beatitude and the fulfillment of the promises. Therefore let us run on the paths, so that we may obtain salvation, and with feet that are not shaken, that is, they do not stumble, because the Lord is perfecting them in His paths. These things are also prayed for when he says, 'I ran without iniquity and I directed my steps,' and, 'I ran on the way of your commandments, when you expanded my heart.' 2 Didymus the Blind, Commentary on The Psalms, from Psalm 16 1 Ps 16.5 2 Ps 58.5, Ps 118.32

Seeking Understanding

Συνέτισόν με, καὶ ἐξερευνήσω τὸν νόμον σου, καὶ φυλάξω αὐτὸν ἐν ὅλῃ καρδίᾳ μου. Βούλεται ἐξερευνῆσαι τὸν νόμον τοῦ Θεοῦ ὁ προφήτης ἐπιστάμενος , ὅτι οὐκ ἔστι σαφὴς καὶ εὐκαταφρόνητος . Συνἐτισόν με τοίνυν , ἵνα ζητήσω αὐτὸν μετὰ τῆς πρεπούσης ἐρεύνης καὶ ἐπιστασίας, ὡς ἐξ αὐτοῦ λαβεῖν τῶν πρακτέων καὶ θεωρητῶν τὴν χρῆσιν καὶ κατάληψιν· οὕτω γὰρ δυνήσομαι φυλάξαι αὐτὸν ἐν ὅλῃ καρδίᾳ ἀνενδοιάστως αὐτῷ προσερχόμενος. Εἰ δὲ συνέσεως δεῖται ἵνα μόνον ἐρευνήσῃ τὸν νόμον, τίνος δεῖται, συνέσεως ἀπὸ Θεοῦ διδομένης, ἵνα εὔρῃ τὸ τέλος; Εὐσέβιος ὁ Καισάρειος, Ὑπομνηματα Ἐις Τους Ψαλμους, Ψαλμὸς ΡΙH' Source: Migne PG 23.1372a

Give me understanding and I shall study your law and I shall guard it with my whole heart. 1 Wishing to study the law of God the prophet is aware that it is not clear and easy to grasp. 'Give me understanding,' then, so that he may examine and ponder it correctly and grasp those things that should be done or contemplated by his study, for only then will he be able to guard it with his whole heart, and without doubt it will be with him. And if it is necessary to study the law with understanding, how great shall be the need for you to have this understanding from God, so that you might reach the end? Eusebius of Caesarea, Commentary on the Psalms, from Psalm 118 1 Ps 118.34

Thanksgiving And The Nations

Sicut scriptum est: Propter hoc confitebor tibi in gentibus, et nomini tuo cantabo. Exemplo prophetico probat; scriptum est enim in psalmo decimo septimo gentes admittendas ad gratiam Dei ad percipiendam salutem. Vox enim Christi est, qua futurum dixit quod in gentibus praedicatio ejus fructum habitura esset confessionis sacramenti Dei; ideo gratias ex hoc agit Filius Patri in obedientiam gentium. Unde in Evangelio ait: Confitebor tibi, Pater domine coeli et terrae, quia abscondisti haec a sapientibus, et prudentibus, et revelasti ea parvulis; quoniam bonum placitum fuit ante te. Confessio ergo ista unius Dei est in Trinitate, ex qua surgit laetitia; ut post veri confessionem laetus decantet misericordiam et donum Dei. Ambrosiaster, In Epistolam ad Romanos, Caput XV Source: Migne PL 17.174a

As it is written, 'Because of this I shall confess to you among the nations, and I will sing your name.' 1 He proves it with a prophetic example, for it was written in the seventeenth Psalm that the nations shall be admitted to the grace of God for the reception of salvation. And it is the voice of Christ, which has spoken of future things, that His preaching shall have fruit among the Gentiles in the confession of the mystery of God. Therefore the Son gives thanks to the Father in the obedience of the nations. Hence in the Gospel it says, 'I shall confess to you, Father, Lord of heaven and earth, that you have hidden these things from the wise and prudent and revealed them to little ones, because it was a good that was pleasing before you.' 3 Therefore this is a confession of the one God in Trinity, from which joy rises up, so that after the confession of truth there is joyful singing of the mercy and gift of God. Ambrosiaster, Commentary On The Letter of Saint Paul To The Romans, Chapter 15 1 Rom 15.9, Ps 17.49 2 Mt 11.25-26

Purity And Righteousness

Domine, quis habitabit in tabernaculo tuo? Respondit Spiritus sanctus per Prophetam: Qui ingreditur sine macula, et operatur justitiam. Igitur impollutus ingrediens, et extra omnem peccati labem vivens, hic esse responsus est, cui post baptismi lavacrum nullae adhaeserint sordes, sed sit immaculatus et nitidus, sitque ei non corpus stupris contaminatum, non oculi spectaculis theatralibus sordidi, non mens vino ebria, non pecuniæ vita ancilla. Magnum est igitur his abstinere; sed non in his statim confecti itineris est requies: coepta enim in his via est, non peracta. Nam sequitur: Et operatur justitiam. Bonum non tam cogitandum est, quam exsequendum: et benevolentia non ineunda est, sed explenda. Justitiam enim velle, hic erit fructus ut fiat. Sanctus Hilarius Pictaviensis, Tractatus super Psalmos, Tractatus in Psalmum XIV Source: Migne PL 9.303a-b

'O Lord, who shall dwell in your tabernacle?' And the Holy Spirit answers through the Prophet, 'He who enters without spot and works righteousness.' 1 Therefore entering unpolluted, and living apart from every fault of sin, is the response, to him in whom after the washing of baptism nothing foul remains, but he is immaculate and shining, and there is no filth contaminating the body, nor do the eyes turn to the spectacles of the theatres, nor is the mind drunk with wine, nor is money the handmaid of life. Therefore it is great thing to abstain from these things, but the immediate rest of the way is not found in them, for these things are the beginning of the way and not its end. Thus it follows, 'And works righteousness.' Good must not only be pondered but performed, and benevolence must not just be contemplated but enacted. For there is the desire for righteousness and the fruit is that it shall be done. Saint Hilary of Poitiers, Homilies on the Psalms, from Psalm 14 1 Ps 14.1-2 2 Prov 1.24-26

Giving Water

Rivos ejus inebria, multiplica generationes ejus: in stillicidiis ejus laetabitur cum exorietur. Terra autem visitata, inebriata est: et quomodo nunc rivi ejus inebriantur? Sed meminisse debemus, quod si quis ex aqua Domini potaverit, flumina de ventre ejus effluent: ergo potatione aquae opus est, ut flumina fluant. Inebriamur autem ipsi, cum Spiritum sanctum qui fluvius est nuncupatus accipimus. Dehinc, quia ex nobis diversi gratiarum rivi emanant, orat propheta ut hos eosdem Dominus inebriet: ut his inebriatis, et dono divini muneris perfusis, generationes nostrae multiplicentur; terra scilicet bona, secundum evangelicam comparationem, verbi semen excipiens, fructu tricesimo et sexagesimo et centesimo ditescat Sanctus Hilarius Pictaviensis, Tractatus super Psalmos, Tractatus in Psalmum LXIV Source: Migne PL 9.414b-c

Give water to its streams, multiply its fruits, in its showers it shall rejoice as it rises up. 1 He has visited the earth and watered it, 2 and now how are its streams watered? We should remember that if someone drinks from the water of the Lord that rivers shall flow out of his breast, 3 therefore one must drink this water so that the rivers flow. We are watered when it is announced that we have received the Holy Spirit, He who is like a river. Hence because the diverse rivers of grace may emanate from us, the prophet prays that the Lord might water him with these, so that being watered with them, and doused in the gift of the Divine benefactions, our fruits might be multiplied, that is, in the good land according to the parable of the Gospel, where when the seed of the Word is received it yields thirty fold and sixty fold and a hundred fold. 4 Saint Hilary of Poitiers, Homilies on the Psalms, from Psalm 64 1 Ps 64.11 2 Ps 64.10 3 Jn 7.38 4 Mt 13.8

True Life

Vivam, inquit, et observabo sermones tuos. Vivam atque observabo non praesentis temporis res est; sed significatio sermonis hujus in futurum se tempus extendit. Scit enim Propheta quando beata illa et vera viventium vita sit. Nunc enim et in pulvere mortis manemus, et in mortis corpore sumus, a quo se liberari Apostolus orat, dicens: Miser ego homo, quis me liberabit a corpore mortis hujus? Habemus autem etiam nunc admixtam nobis materiam, quae mortis legi et peccati obnoxia est; et in hujus caducae carnis infirmisque domicilio corruptionis labem ex ejus consortio mutuamur: ac nisi glorificato in naturam spiritus corpore, vitae verae in nobis non potest esse natura. Audiamus eum, qui se meminit in corpore mortis habitare dicentem: Quia vita nostra absconsa est cum Christo in Deo. Cum autem Christus apparuerit vita nostra, tunc et vos apparebitis cum ipso in gloria. Hanc ergo retributionem sibi Propheta orat, ut vivat: futurae hujus vitae tempus in loco altero docens, quo ait: Et placebo Domino in regione viventium. Scit hanc mundi istius sedem regionem non esse viventium. Scit nos adhuc secundum praefigurationem legis emundandos esse. Nunc enim admiscemur morticinae: et in lege quisquis mortuum contrectat, immundus est. Sed absit istud, ut quidquam horum in lege corporaliter intelligatur, tamquam per contrectationem mortui quisquam fiat immundus. Joseph ossa egrediens Aegyptum Moyses ipse lator legis abstulit, Eliseus mortuo ut eum vivificaret incubuit: Dominus ipse mortuos manu apprehensos in vitam retraxit: et contrectatio mortui si immundum effectura fuisset, nequaquam a tantis viris, neque a Domino violata lex esset, ipso dicente: Non veni legem solvere, sed adimplere. Sed quia lex umbra est futurorum bonorum; idcirco per hanc praeformatam significantiam docuit nos in hoc terreni et morticini corporis habitaculo mundos esse non posse, nisi per ablutionem coelestis misericordiae emundationem consequamur, post demutationem resurrectionis, terreni corporis nostri effecta gloriosiore natura. Sanctus Hilarius Pictaviensis, Tractatus super Psalmos, Tractatus in Psalmum CXVIII Source: Migne PL 9.517c-519a

'I shall live,' he says, 'and I shall observe your words.' 1 But this living and observing is not a matter of the present time, but the signification of this speech extends itself into the future. For the prophet knows when the blessed and true life of the living will be, since now we exist in the dust of death, and we are in the body of death, from which the Apostle prays to be freed, saying, 'I am a wretched man, who shall free me from this body of death.' 2 Now we have material mixed in us which is subject to the law of death and sin, and in this dwelling place of frail and weak flesh, we borrow the taint of corruption from association with it, and unless the glorification of the Spirit is in the nature of our body, it is not possible for us to have the true life in us. Let us hear him who recalls to himself that he is dwelling in a body of death, saying, 'Because our life is hidden with Christ in God, and when Christ, our life, shall appear, then even you will appear with him in glory.' 3 Therefore this is the reward that the prophet prays for, he who teaches about the time of the future life in another place, saying, 'I shall please the Lord in the land of the living.' 4 He knows that the place of this world is not the land of the living. He knows that we yet need to be cleansed according to the prefiguration of the law, for now we are mixed with perishing things, and in the law whoever touches a corpse is unclean. 5 But let it not be that whatever is found in the law is understood corporally, as if by touching a corpse we are made unclean. The bones of Joseph were taken out of Egypt by Moses, who propounded the law, and so flouted it, and Elisha lay on a dead man to revive him, and the Lord Himself with the touch of His hand drew the dead back to life, 6 and so if the touch of a corpse were to make us unclean, these great men, even the Lord, would have violated the law, even He who said, 'I have not come to set aside the law but to fulfill it.' 7 But because the law is a shadow of future goods, therefore the meaning of prefiguration teaches us that in this dwelling of the earthly and perishable body it is not possible to be clean unless we receive the cleansing washing of the heavenly mercy, because of which, after the change of the resurrection, our earthly bodies will be turned into a glorious nature. Saint Hilary of Poitiers, Homilies on the Psalms, from Psalm 118 1 Ps 118.17 2 Rom 7.24 3 Colos 3.3-4 4 Ps 114.11 5 Numb 19.11 6 Exod 13,19, 4 Kings 4.34, Mt 9.25 7 Mt 5.17

A Mixing

Κλῖνον τὴν καρδίαν μου εἰς τὰ μαρτύριά σεν, καὶ μὴ εἰς πλεονεξίαν. Ἀπόστρεψον τοὺς ὀφθαλμούς μου τοῦ μὴ ἰδεῖν ματαιότητα· ἐν τῇ ὁδῷ σου ζῆσόν με. Στῆσον τῷ δούλῳ σου τὸ λόγιόν σου εἰς τὸν φόβον σου. Περίελε τὸν ὀνειδισμόν μου ὃν ὑπώπτευσα, ὅτι τὰ κρίματά σου χρηστά. Ἰδοὺ ἐπεθύμησα τὰς ἐντολάς σου, ἐν τῇ δικαιοσύνη σου ζῆσόν με. Πάντα ἐπὶ τὸν Θεον άναφέρουσιν οἱ ἅγιοι, διδάσκοντες ἡμᾶς , ὅτι χωρὶς θεοῦ οὐδὲν δυνάμεθα. Ἐὰν γὰρ μὴ ἐν ἐμοὶ, φησί, μένητε, οὐδὲν δύνασθε ποιεῖν. ᾿Αλλ ' ἴσως τις ἐρεῖ· Εἰ πάντα ἀναφέρεται ἐπὶ τὸν Θεὸν, ποῦ τὸ ἐπ᾿ ἐμοί; Εἰ δὲ μὴ , πανταχοῦ ἐπέπλεξε τοῖς ἀπὸ τοῦ Θεοῦ τὰ ἐφ᾿ ἡμῖν. Ἀπὸ τοῦ Θεοῦ τό· Νομοθέτησόν με, Κύριε, τὴν ὁδὸν τῶν δικαιωμάτων σου· τὸ δ ' ἐφ᾽ ἡμῖν· Καὶ ἐκζητήσω αὐτὴν διαπαντός. Ἀπὸ Θεοῦ αἰτῶ πάλιν Συνέτισόν με, καὶ ἐξερευνήσω τὸν νόμον σου. Τὸ δ ' ἐπ ' ἐμοί· Καὶ φυλάξω αὐτὸν ἐν ὅλῃ καρδίᾳ. Καὶ τρίτον ἀπὸ Θεοῦ αἰτῶ λέγων· Ὁδήγησόν με ἐν τρίβῳ τῶν ἐντολῶν σου· τἱ τὸ ἐπ᾿ ἐμοί; Ὅτι αὐτὸν ἠθέλησα· δῆλον δὲ ὅτι τὸν ἀνωτέρω εἰρημένον νόμον, ὥστε αἰτῶμεν τὰ ἀπὸ Θεοῦ προσγενέσθαι ἡμῖν, ἐπαγγελλόμενοι καὶ τὰ ἐφ᾽ ἡμῖν καὶ μὴ ψευδόμενοι, ἵνα μὴ τὰς πρὸς Θεὸν ἀθετῶμεν συνθήκας. Εὐσέβιος ὁ Καισάρειος, Ὑπομνηματα Ἐις Τους Ψαλμους, Ψαλμὸς ΡΙH' Source: Migne PG 23.1372b-c

Incline my heart to your testimonies, and not to avarice. Avert my eyes lest they see vanity, revive me in your way. Set your word in me in fear. Cut off the disgrace which I have acquired, because your judgements are joyful. Behold, I have desired your commandments, in your righteousness renew me. 1 Holy men refer everything to God, in which they teach us that we cannot do anything without God. 'For unless you remain in me,' He says, 'you can do nothing.' 2 Buy perhaps someone will say, 'If they refer everything to God what is there for me to do?' But everywhere there is a mixing of the things of God's power and of ours. Certainly of God is, 'Place your law in me, O Lord, the way of your justifications,' but our part is, 'I shall follow it always.' Again of God I ask, 'Give me understanding and I shall study your law,' and to me refers, 'I shall keep it in my whole heart.' Thirdly from God I entreat, 'Lead me into the path of your commandments,' but what pertains to me? 'Because I have wished it,' 3 that is, I have been mindful of your law. So it is that we seek the things of God to be with us and promise those things which are in our power, lest acting falsely we violate our covenant with God. Eusebius of Caesarea, Commentary on the Psalms, from Psalm 118 1 Ps 118.36-40 2 Jn 15.4 3 Ps 118.33-35

Most High

Kαὶ γνώτωσαν ὅτι ὄνομά σοι Kύριος, σὺ μόνος ὕψιστος ἐπὶ πᾶσαν τὴν γῆν. Εἰ καὶ ἄλλοι ὑψηλοὶ καὶ ὑψίστου ἐκ Θεοῦ γεγένηνται, ἀρετῇ μετεωριζόμενοι καὶ ὑψούμενοι. ᾿Αλλ' οὐδεὶς ἐξ ἐκείνων ἐξ ἑαυτοῦ καὶ κατ᾿ οὐσίαν ἐστὶν τοιοῦτος· μόνος γὰρ Θεὸς ὕψιστος, ποιῶν ἀλλ᾿ οὐ γινόμενος, ὡς μόνος σοφός ἐστιν καὶ μόνος ἀληθινὸς παρέχων σοφίαν καὶ ἀλήθειαν. Δίδυμος Αλεξανδρεύς, Εἰς Ψαλμούς, Ψαλμος ΠΒ' Source: Migne PG 39.1480b

And let them know that your name is the Lord, you who alone are most high over all the earth. 1 Even if others have been raised on high by God, and lifted up with virtue and exalted, yet there is not one among them who by his own nature is such a thing, for God alone is most high, the Creator and not the created, so that only He is wise, and only He is true, and only He gifts wisdom and truth. Didymus the Blind, Commentary on The Psalms, from Psalm 82 1 Ps 82.19

Faith And Mountains

Qui confidunt in Domino, sicut mons Sion : non commovebitur in aeternum, qui habitat in Jerusalem. Fides quae ad Deum est, stabilem facit vitam nec ullis tentationibus moveri potest, qui supra firmam petram suam construit domum. Quis est mons Sion nisi Christus, qui est in vertice montium, et elevabitur super colles, et fluent ad eum omnes gentes? Sion est Ecclesia, in qua speculum vitae et aeternitatis visio, cujus caput est Christus. Ecce quaerit iste ascensor spiritalium graduum, qualis sit ista Jerusalem, in qua sanctorum chorus habitat, et respondetur ei: Montes in circuitu ejus, et Dominus in circuitu populi sui, ex hoc nunc et usque in saeculum. Isti montes sunt angeli, sunt prophetae, et praedicatores sancti, qui muniunt istam Jerusalem. Et ne hoc tibi parvum videretur, quod tales montes habet in circuitu, statim subjunxit: Et Dominus in circuitu populi sui. Ecce quales habemus muros, quales munitiones, quales defensores! Maneamus intra septa Jerusalem, et non timeamus insidias diaboli, nec sagittas ejus, tales habentes defensores; et hoc non ad tempus, sed in aeternum, ideo dicit: Ex hoc nunc et usque in saeculum. Alcuinus, Expositio in Psalmos Graduales, Psalmus CXXIV Source: Migne PL 100.626a-c

They who trust in the Lord are like mount Sion. He who dwells in Jerusalem shall never be moved. 1 Faith in God makes life firm, and he who has established his house on His rock cannot be shaken by any trial. 2 Who is mount Sion but Christ, who is on the peak of the mountain, and is lifted up over the hills, and all the peoples flow to him? 3 Sion is the Church, in which is the mirror of life and the vision of eternity, and of which Christ is the head. Note that he who goes up the spiritual steps asks what this Jerusalem is in which the chorus of the saints dwell, and he is answered, Mountains encircle it, and the Lord is around his people, now and forever. These mountains are the angels and the prophets, and the holy preachers, who make the walls of this Jerusalem. And lest it seem to be a little thing to you, that such mountains surround it, immediately he adds, 'And the Lord is around His people.' Behold what walls we have, what bastions, what defenders. Let us remain in the boundaries of Jerusalem, and let us not fear the plots of the devil, nor his shafts, since we have such great defenders, and not only for a time but forever, and therefore it says, 'now and forever.' Alcuin of York, Commentary on the Gradual Psalms, from Psalm 124 1 Ps 124.1 2 Mt 7.24-27 3 Isaiah 2.2

Speech, Deed, And Vanity

Vana locuti sunt unusquisque ad proximum summ. Locutio non incongrue intelligi potest, non solum in voce, sed etiam in operatione, quia indicium cordis non solum vox est, sed etiam exhibitio operis. Scimus autem quod vanum est omne quod transit. Ille vanitatem in corde habet qui transitoria diligit. Vanitatem loquitur, qui pro hac vita tranistoria immoderate laborans ipso suo studio, et opere eam se diligere ostendit. Vanitatem autem ad proximum suum loquitur qui exemplo suo eum ad petenda transitora cohortatur. Hugo De Sancte Victore, Miscellanea, Liber II, Caput X, Quod locutio sit in voce et opere, et quis vanitatem in corde habeat, quis loquatur; et quis loquatur eam ad proximum. Source: Migne PL 177.593c

Each one has spoken vanities to his neighbour. 1 It is not wrong to understand that speech is not only given by the voice but even through acts, because the proof of a heart is not only through the voice but even by the exhibition of the act. We know that everything which is vain passes away. He has vanity in his heart who loves transitory things. He speaks vainly who with excessive zeal labours for the transitory things of this life, and with that work shows what he loves. And he speaks vanity to his neighbour who by his example exhorts him to seek transitory things. Hugh Of Saint Victor, Miscellanea, Book 2, Chapter 10, That Speech May Be By the Voice or the Deed, and that he who has vanity in his heart who speaks, and who speaks to his neighbour 1 Ps 11.3