Bellarmine on Psalm 142: Verse 1

Today, we continue with St Robert Bellarmine's commentary on Psalm 142, the last of the Seven Penitential Psalms.

The Latin is reproduced courtesy of the Digital Collection site  - UANL and is accompanied by my fairly literal translation. The Scripture excerpts (Douay Rheims/Vulgate) are taken from the DRBO site but the verse numbering follows that of Bellarmine’s Latin text.

Where footnotes are included, the text follows each section.

Verse 1

Hear, O Lord, my prayer: give ear to my supplication in thy truth: hear me in thy justice.

Domine, exaudi orationem meam; auribus percipe obsecrationem meam in veritate tua; exaudi me in tua justitia.

At the beginning of the Psalm, David asks to be heard in truth and in justice. He explains the request in which he wishes to be heard because he presupposes that God understands this to be remission from the sin he has committed and for which he is being punished. Now God understood that he was requesting this from Him and that he wanted to be heard in this matter, not only because He could see the desire of his heart but also perhaps from the groaning and sighing of sincere contrition. Thus it is read of St. Mary Magdalen that she did not seek forgiveness of her sins by uttering words, but with her tears she bathed the feet of the Lord; and the Lord understood what she sought and said to her: “ Thy sins are forgiven thee.”[1] And so David, with a contrite heart and groaning inwardly, says, as he seeks forgiveness of his sin: “Hear, O Lord, my prayer,” which you understand as to what it is; and repeating it, he adds: “Give ear to my supplication in thy truth,” that is, in accordance with Thy faithfulness, by which Thou keepest Thy promise of giving forgiveness to penitents. He repeats this when he adds: “Hear me in thy justice,” where by justice he understands faithfulness, which is part of justice, which a little earlier he called truth. St. John Chrysostom understands by justice kindness, which God displays towards true penitents; for he notes that the Prophet does not say “Hear me in justice,” but “Hear me in thy justice,” which Thou art wont to show towards penitents, being not so much justice as ineffable kindness. For God certainly, when he sees penitence or when he hears a confession, immediately pardons the offences. “Tell if thou hast any thing to justify thyself.[2] Judges seek from men confession of crime so that they may be condemned; God seeks so that He may absolve. Finally, the father of the prodigal son, by whom we understand God, as soon as he saw  his son return

and heard the words: “Father, I have sinned against heaven, and before thee,”[3] he fell upon his neck, and kissed him, and ordered for the first robe to be brought for him, and a ring and shoes for his feet, and for the fatted calf to be killed etc. This explanation is almost one with that which we gave above; for that justice, by which God delivers His promised forgiveness to penitents, is nothing else than the faithfulness of His surpassing, exceptional kindness. St. Augustine understands by the justice of God that justice which we have, not from our merits, but by the grace of God; this sentence is true but the previous one is better suited to the words.

[1] And he said to her: Thy sins are forgiven thee. Dixit autem ad illam : Remittuntur tibi peccata. [Luc. Vii. 48]
[2] Cf. Put me in remembrance, and let us plead together: tell if thou hast any thing to justify thyself. Reduc me in memoriam, et judicemur simul : narra si quid habes ut justificeris. [Isai. Xliii, 26]
[3] And the son said to him: Father, I have sinned against heaven, and before thee, I am not now worthy to be called thy son. Dixitque ei filius : Pater, peccavi in caelum, et coram te : jam non sum dignus vocari filius tuus. [Luc. xv. 21]

Totus tuus ego sum

Et omnia mea tua sunt;

Tecum semper tutus sum:

Ad Jesum per Mariam.