“A Song or Psalm of David. O God, my heart is fixed; I will sing and give praise, even with my glory.”
David. St. Peter attributes it to him, and gives us the key to this psalm, by applying (ver. 8.) to the traitor Judas, Acts i. 16, 20. (Berthier, T. vii.) — Our Saviour seems to allude to it, when he styles Judas, the son of perdition, John xvii. 8. It may also have a reference to Doeg, or Achitophel, who were his forerunners. Ven. Bede thinks it was composed by the Machabees, against apostates. The Church used it in the deposition of bishops, and against the usurpers of ecclesiastical goods: (Grotius) and, in times of ignorance, some thought hereby to discover thieves. The style is very vehement, (Calmet) containing the sentence pronounced by the sovereign judge against the reprobate. (Haydock)
“Awake, psaltery and harp: I myself will awake early.”
Praise. Hebrew, “God of my praise,” (Calmet) — whom I always adore, under every dispensation of Providence. (Haydock) — Yet the original may agree with the Vulgate, and Christ desires to be glorified, (John xii. 23., and xvii. 5.; Berthier) and styles his passion, his praise. (Theodoret) — David appeals to God’s judgment. (Calmet) — Man. The Pharisees, &c., endeavoured to entangle Christ, Matthew xxii. (Worthington) — Saul’s courtiers strove, by calumnies, to excite his rage against David. (Calmet)
“I will praise thee, O LORD, among the people: and I will sing praises unto thee among the nations.”
Cause. Or provocation. (Haydock) — So Catiline gratuito potius malus quam crudelis erat. (Sallust.) — The sanctity of Jesus Christ could not be overwhelmed, or hidden, (Haydock) even with the torrent of abuse thrown upon him.
“For thy mercy is great above the heavens: and thy truth reacheth unto the clouds. clouds: or, skies”
Detracted. Hebrew and Septuagint, “calumniated,” as [in] ver. 20., and 29. (Calmet) — Prayer. Jesus Christ prayed for his enemies, (Luke xxiii. 34.; Flaminius) and did many good works for the benefit of all, John x. 32., and Acts x. 38. David had also signalized himself in the defence of his country, and yet was banished. He shews that he was animated with the perfect spirit of the gospel, though the law permitted retaliation, Exodus xxi. 24. (Calmet)
“That thy beloved may be delivered: save with thy right hand, and answer me.”
Set thou the sinner over him, &c. Give to the devil, that arch-sinner, power over him: let him enter into him, and possess him. The imprecations, contained in the thirty verses of this psalm, are opposed to the thirty pieces of silver for which Judas betrayed our Lord: and are to be taken as prophetic denunciations of the evils that should befall the traitor, and his accomplices, the Jews; and not properly as curses. (Challoner) — The devil entered into Judas, (John xiii. 2.; Calmet) who hung himself in despair. (Worthington) — The Jews were abandoned over to cruel masters, as Doeg and Achitophel presently perished, Psalm li. 5. It was customary at trials, for a satan, or “adversary,” to be stationed at the right hand of the accused, Zacharias iii. 1. (Calmet)
“God hath spoken in his holiness; I will rejoice, I will divide Shechem, and mete out the valley of Succoth.”
Prayer. Or may his supplication to judges for pardon irritate them, (Calmet) and let it not move God to mercy any more than a sin. (Menochius) — God rejects such prayers as are destitute of the proper conditions, as he did those of Antiochus, (St. Augustine; Calmet) and they are a fresh sin. (Berthier) — Yet the prayer of a sinner is not so, when he acts sincerely. (Haydock)
“Gilead is mine; Manasseh is mine; Ephraim also is the strength of mine head; Judah is my lawgiver;”
Bishopric. Episkopen, “inspection or pre-eminence” of any kind. Judas lost his spiritual office, and the Jews all dominion in a very short time. St. Peter quotes this passage, [Acts i. 20.] and only the Socinians will assert that he does not adhere to the literal sense. (Berthier) — The apostleship (Worthington) was given to St. Matthias. (Calmet) — The priesthood of Aaron was forced to give place to that of Melchisedech. (Menochius)
“Moab is my washpot ; over Edom will I cast out my shoe; over Philistia will I triumph.”
Wisdom. Judas was married, (St. Augustine) and stole for his family; (Lyranus) though as the Scripture is silent, St. Chrysostom believes the contrary. (Menochius) — The synagogue being rejected, the Jews are in a manner orphans. (Calmet) — The posterity of persecutors prosper not long. (Worthington) — All sorts of imprecations are used that some may fall upon the guilty. (Genebrard) (Menochius)
“Who will bring me into the strong city? who will lead me into Edom?”
Out. Hebrew, “seek.” St. Jerome, “be sought after,” which implies that the are rejected. (Houbigant) — The being reduced to beg, is terrible to one who has been brought up in a better manner. — Dwellings. Septuagint (Menochius) and St. Jerome, “ruins.” The Jews were forbidden to weep over the ruins of Jerusalem, and are become vagabonds. (Calmet)
“Wilt not thou, O God, who hast cast us off? and wilt not thou, O God, go forth with our hosts?”
Usurer. The Romans forced the miserable Jews to pay taxes, and Domitian banished them from Rome, to live in a wood, where their furniture was only a basket and some hay, and their wives came to beg.
“Through God we shall do valiantly: for he it is that shall tread down our enemies.”
In one. Hebrew, “another.” Let none remember them. The ruin of Jerusalem took place within forty years time. (Calmet) — Arch-heretics are not long followed; their disciples make fresh discoveries. (Worthington)
Out. As children derive great advantages from the piety of their parents, so they also feel the punishment of their crimes, when they imitate them, Deuteronomy xxiv. 16., and Ezechiel xviii. 20. If they share in the afflictions of their family, and are free from sin, this must be considered as a trial, and they will be amply rewarded in a future world. God is the arbiter of the life and death of all. External miseries may afflict both the just and sinners; but the motive for their being sent is very different. The Jews prayed, Let his blood be upon us, and upon our children; (Matthew xxvii. 25.) and they became chargeable with all the crimes of their ancestors, Matthew xxiii. 35. (Calmet)
They. Iniquities, (Haydock) or may the sinners be “against the Lord,” and He against them, Leviticus xxvi. 21. (Calmet)
Mercy. Therefore he, the chief, and each of his adherents, can expect to find no mercy, James ii. 13. (Haydock) — By the most crying injustice, the Jews put to death, the man of sorrows, [Isaias liii. 3.] (Calmet) who had been pleased to assume our nature, and had not where to lay his head, Luke ix. 58. (Menochius)
Bones. This strikingly describes the malediction of a person who has swallowed iniquity like water, Job xv. 16., and Proverbs iv. 17. The Jews had spoken ill of Christ, and of his disciples, Matthew xxvii. 25., and John ix. 17. (Calmet) — Let all who delight in cursing, attend to this sentence. (Worthington) — They like those things, which bring both temporal and eternal misery. (Menochius)
Work. They effect their own ruin. (Haydock) — The Jews pretended to act for the glory of God, being influenced with a zeal without knowledge. Some translate, “let such be the recompense;” which is not amiss. (Berthier)
With me. Many ancient psalters supply, “thy mercy,” with the Arabic. (Calmet) — Grace must always accompany our endeavours, 1 Corinthians xv. 10. (Berthier)
Within me. In the garden. Christ did penance for sin all his life. He wept over Jerusalem, Luke xix. 41. (Haydock)
Locusts. David was forced to wander about. Christ continually sought after the lost sheep, (Calmet) and was hurried to different tribunals. (Menochius) — St. Jerome applies this to the Jews, and St. Augustine to Christians under persecution. (Calmet)
For oil, propter oleum. The meaning is, my flesh is changed, being perfectly emaciated, and dried up, as having lost all its oil, or fatness. (Challoner) — Or, “on account of the privation of perfumes,” (Berthier) which the Jews looked upon as necessary. David and Jesus Christ were exposed to many inconveniences.
Heads, and saying, Vah, &c. (Matthew xxvii. 40.) as Semei insulted David, (2 Kings xvi. 5.; Calmet) though he is not said to have shaken his head, for which reason the prophecy may rather relate solely to Christ. (Berthier) — “To pay our ransom, he was crucified; to be crucified, he was despised; and to be despised, he appeared in a state of abjection.” (St. Augustine) — These three steps were requisite, as the Jews would never have dared to lay hands on him, if he had appeared in glory. (Berthier)
It. My suffering, (Berthier) or deliverance. (Calmet) — Jesus Christ prays for a glorious resurrection, and that his enemies may be covered with all possible confusion. (Worthington)
Cloak. Diplois, means the outward robe. Hebrew mehil. (Haydock) (Galatians iii. 13.) — “The cross of Jesus Christ shall be the glory of believers, and the confusion of infidels.” (St. Leo, ser. xviii. de pas.) — A salutary and inward shame may be of great advantage. (Haydock) — Christ prays that his enemies may feel such a sorrow, and be converted. (St. Jerome) — “He speaks not against, but in favour of, the Jews.” (St. Augustine) (Calmet)
Many. In the Catholic Church, (Haydock) till the end of the world. (Calmet)
My. Hebrew, “his soul from the judges,” Pilate and the Jews, (Calmet) particularly the Sanhedrim. How many still continue to persecute Christ, and do not tremble! (Berthier)