Psam 128 (after Bellarmine)

David introduces the Psalms. Master Jean de Mandeville,
(French, active 1350 - 1370) [Getty Museum]

We are continuing to build the pages of the Little Office website. Below is Psalm 128, from Compline, with notes based on St Robert Bellarmine's explanations.

Totus tuus ego sum 
Et omnia mea tua sunt;
Tecum tutus semper sum:
Ad Jesum per Mariam

[ ]  Footnotes are not hyperlinked but refer to the notes after the Psalm.

Psalmus 128

Saepe expugnaverunt. The church of God is invincible: her persecutors come to nothing.

[1] Canticum graduum. Saepe expugnavérunt me a juventúte mea, dicat nunc Israël;
Often have they fought against me from my youth, let Israel now say.

[2] saepe expugnavérunt me a juventúte mea; étenim non potuérunt mihi.
Often have they fought against me from my youth: but they could not prevail over me.

[3] Supra dorsum meum fabricavérunt peccatóres; prolongavérunt iniquitátem suam.
The wicked have wrought upon my back: they have lengthened their iniquity.

[4] Dóminus justus concídit cervíces peccatórum.
The Lord who is just will cut the necks of sinners:

[5] Confundántur, et convertántur retrórsum omnes qui odérunt Sion.
Let them all be confounded and turned back that hate Sion.

[6] Fiant sicut foenum tectórum, quod priúsquam evellátur exáruit,
Let them be as grass on the tops of houses: which withered before it be plucked up:

[7] de quo non implévit manum suam qui metit, et sinum suum qui manípulos cólligit.
Wherewith the mower filleth not his hand: nor he that gathereth sheaves his bosom.

[8] Et non dixérunt qui praeteríbant : Benedíctio Dómini super vos. Benedíximus vobis in nómine Dómini.
And they that have passed by have not said: The blessing of the Lord be upon you: we have blessed you in the name of the Lord.

Notes

[1] Canticum graduum. Saepe expugnavérunt me a juventúte mea, dicat nunc Israël;
Often have they fought against me from my youth, let Israel now say.

God’s people, in trouble, console themselves by the reflection that troubles and difficulties are nothing new to them, and that, through God’s assistance, they have always got through them. This applies to the Jews, and the repeated attacks of the neighbouring nations, while the temple and the city were being rebuilt; and it also applies to the Church of Christ, that scarcely ever had a moment’s respite from the assaults of pagans, heretics, or bad Christians. He, therefore, says, “Often have they fought against me from my youth, let Israel now say.” Let not Israel, God’s people, be surprised if her enemies assail her; for it is no new story with her; because, from her very infancy, at the first dawn of the Church, she suffered persecution from Cain, and similar persecutions have been going on to the present day.

[2] saepe expugnavérunt me a juventúte mea; étenim non potuérunt mihi.
Often have they fought against me from my youth: but they could not prevail over me.

He assigns a reason for the enemies having come so often to the charge, and says it was because “they could not prevail over him;” for, had they prevailed over and destroyed God’s people, they would have had no occasion to renew the fight. The history of the Church bears testimony to this.

[3] Supra dorsum meum fabricavérunt peccatóres; prolongavérunt iniquitátem suam.
The wicked have wrought upon my back: they have lengthened their iniquity.

He now repeats and confirms by similes and metaphors what he had just expressed in plain language. “The wicked have wrought upon my back.” They used my back for an anvil that the smith so repeatedly hammers; for their persecutions were so fierce and so numerous, that they could be compared to nothing else. “They have lengthened their iniquity.” It was not once or twice they so hammered me, but they repeated it, kept it up and continued it.

[4] Dóminus justus concídit cervíces peccatórum.
The Lord who is just will cut the necks of sinners:
[5] Confundántur, et convertántur retrórsum omnes qui odérunt Sion.
Let them all be confounded and turned back that hate Sion.

The prophet now consoles God’s people by predicting that the divine vengeance was not far off from the wicked persecutors of the just; as if he said, Cheer up, you just, for your persecutors, to be sure, wrought upon your back, or your necks; but, in a very short time, God, in his justice, instead of working on their necks, will cut them off with his sword, so that they will never again have the power of harming you; and then, finally, all those who had been so puffed up in their pride “shall be confounded,” and all they “that hate Sion,” and persecuted God’s people, shall fly, and fall, and “be turned back.” We must remark that the expression, “will cut the necks of sinners,” applies only to the impenitent sinners; for God, instead of cutting the necks of those who humbly confess their sins with a fixed purpose of amendment, “heals all their diseases.” The words, “Let them all be confounded and turned back that hate Sion,” is not to be read in the sense of an imprecation, but of a prophecy; as we have frequently remarked.

[6] Fiant sicut foenum tectórum, quod priúsquam evellátur exáruit,
Let them be as grass on the tops of houses: which withered before it be plucked up:
[7] de quo non implévit manum suam qui metit, et sinum suum qui manípulos cólligit.
Wherewith the mower filleth not his hand: nor he that gathereth sheaves his bosom.

Another imprecation, which, too, is to be read as a prediction, for it conveys to us the briefness of the happiness of the wicked, and, by a very happy idea, compares it to grass, a vile and fragile substance, and, as is said of it, “which is to day, and tomorrow will be cast into the fire;” and, not content with comparing it to grass, he adds, that it is like the grass that grows on the top of a house, a thing of no value, so much so that nobody ever thinks of cutting it, saving it, or making it into bundles, but leaves it where it grows to wither and to rot. At present, we don’t see the full extent of this comparison, though we know of nothing, perhaps, more worthless, or of less value than such grass; but when we shall all come to be judged we shall see that such a comparison, instead of being over the mark, is considerably under it. What will be, then, to see those who abounded in the riches and power of this world, and who imagined they had, through such riches, established themselves and their families in their kingdoms and empires, shoved out ignominiously, and hurled into the lowest pit? and, furthermore, to see those who had reveled in pleasures and enjoyments, who knew not how to put up with the slightest inconvenience, consigned to everlasting torments, without the slightest hope of the smallest relief for all eternity?

[8] Et non dixérunt qui praeteríbant : Benedíctio Dómini super vos. Benedíximus vobis in nómine Dómini.
And they that have passed by have not said: The blessing of the Lord be upon you: we have blessed you in the name of the Lord.

As he said that the grass on the house top was not usually cut or gathered, he adds, that neither will the mowers of such grass be saluted or blessed by the passers by, as they are wont to salute the reapers or mowers of the hay or corn that grows in the fields; which will be another ingredient in the confusion of the wicked, who are compared to the grass on the house top. He, therefore, says, it never occurred, nor will it occur, that the passers by should salute or bless them that mow you, for you were never mowed, but when there was occasion to clean the roof you were pulled up and thrown into the fire or the sewer; and though the blessing of the passers by is given to the mowers, still it has its own effect on what is being mowed, for it includes the abundance and the ripeness of the crop and thus, the absence of any benediction on the wicked will have its effect on them too, because, in the last judgment, nobody will bless or salute them, nobody will have pity on them; they will be despised and condemned by all, which will tend very much to their further disgrace. No one will say to them, “The blessing of the Lord be upon you,” nor “We have blessed you in the name of the Lord;” but, on the contrary, they will be told by Christ, the judge, and by all his saints, “Go, ye cursed, into everlasting fire.”

Psam 127 (after Bellarmine)

David introduces the Psalms. Master Jean de Mandeville,
(French, active 1350 - 1370) [Getty Museum]

We are continuing to build the pages of the Little Office website. Below is Psalm 127, from None, with notes based on St Robert Bellarmine's explanations.

Totus tuus ego sum 
Et omnia mea tua sunt;
Tecum tutus semper sum:
Ad Jesum per Mariam

[ ]  Footnotes are not hyperlinked but refer to the notes after the Psalm.

Psalm 127

Beati omnes. The fear of God is the way to happiness.

[1] Beáti, omnes, qui timent Dóminum, * qui ámbulant in viis ejus.
Blessed are all they that fear the Lord: * that walk in his ways.
 [2] Labóres mánuum tuárum quia manducábis: * beátus es, et bene tibi erit.
For thou shalt eat the labours of thy hands: * blessed art thou, and it shall be well with thee.[3] Uxor tua sicut vitis abúndans, * in latéribus domus tuæ.
Thy wife as a fruitful vine, * on the sides of thy house.
 [3a] Fílii tui sicut novéllæ olivárum, * in circúitu mensæ tuæ.
Thy children as olive plants, * round about thy table.
 [4] Ecce, sic benedicétur homo, * qui timet Dóminum.
Behold, thus shall the man be blessed * that feareth the Lord.
 [5] Benedícat tibi Dóminus ex Sion: * et vídeas bona Jerúsalem ómnibus diébus vitæ tuæ.
May the Lord bless thee out of Sion: * and mayst thou see the good things of Jerusalem all the days of thy life.
 [6] Et vídeas fílios filiórum tuórum, * pacem super Israël.
And mayst thou see thy children’s children, * peace upon Israel.

Notes

[1] Beáti, omnes, qui timent Dóminum, * qui ámbulant in viis ejus.
Blessed are all they that fear the Lord: * that walk in his ways.
The prophet teaches the exiles, on their return to their country, how they should conduct themselves, if they wish to avoid being made captives again, and to enjoy the blessings of Jerusalem forever. A very suitable instruction for the captives of this world, who long to get back to their country; as well as for those who are on their pilgrimage to the country above, and are in haste to get there. He then says, “Blessed are all they,” be they men or women, great or small, nobles or plebeians, learned or unlearned, in one word, all without exception; then alone will they be truly happy, that is, fortunate, contented, joyful, in the very best possible temper, a thing so much coveted by all, when they really fear God; that is, when they dread offending him, and, under the influence of such fear, never fall from God’s grace, which is the fountain of all good. Now, a sign of such fear is “to walk in his ways;” because such holy fear springs from love; and the Lord says, “If you love me, keep my commandments;” and again, “He that has my commandments, and keepeth them, he it is that loveth me;” and again, “He that loveth me not keepeth not my commandments.”

[2] Labóres mánuum tuárum quia manducábis: * beátus es, et bene tibi erit.
For thou shalt eat the labours of thy hands: * blessed art thou, and it shall be well with thee.
Addressing the man who so fears God, he begins to enumerate his blessings. (1)Your first blessing will be, “For thou shalt eat the labours of thy hands;” you will enjoy all the property you have acquired by your industry, by the labour of your hands. Here we should reflect that the prophet does not make happiness to consist in great riches, but in such as have been acquired by the labour of one’s hands, and they are, generally speaking, moderate. Great riches either come by inheritance, or from plunder or usury, or some other bad source. St. Jerome quotes an old saying, and a true one, “The rich man is either a rogue or the heir of a rogue;” and in Psalm 36, we have, “Better is a little to the just than the great riches of the wicked;” and again, in Psalm 143, “Their storehouses are full, flowing out of this into that. Their sheep fruitful in young, abounding in their goings forth. Their oxen fat. There is no breach of wall or passage, nor crying out in their streets. They have called the people happy that hath these things, happy is that people whose God is the Lord.”
Holy David then addresses not only the Jews, but all Christians, when he makes happiness to consist not in great riches, but in a sufficiency; the having wherewithal to live by one’s just labor; and he censures two extremes—one, that of those who live on the others entirely; and the other, that of those who will not touch the labour of their hands, but, in a spirit of avarice, put it aside to increase their riches. They alone, then, are truly happy “who eat the labours of their hands.” It may happen, however, that some “who fear God,” and “walk in his ways,” may not be able to eat of the “labours of their hands,” and have to endure hunger and thirst, by reason of their having been despoiled, or defrauded of their labor; but that will not bar the promise made in this passage; for if God sometimes lets his friends down so low that they would be glad to satisfy the cravings of their hunger with the fragments that fall from the table of the rich, as was the case with Lazarus, he will certainly give them something better, far better, instead; and that is joy from tribulation, as the Apostle has it, “You received with joy the plundering of your goods;” and again, “I exceedingly abound with joy in all our tribulations;” and the meaning of this verse will be, “For thou shalt eat the labors of thy hands; blessed art thou, and it shall be well with thee;” that is to say, you shall now eat of the labor, you shall be refreshed by the joy consequent on labor and tribulation, but afterwards you shall be fattened by the fruit of said labour, by the reward in store for your good works; and “blessed art thou” now in hope, “and it shall be well with thee” hereafter in the reality. This is peculiarly applicable to the pilgrims, who “rejoice in the tribulation” of want and difficulties; “for they know tribulation worketh patience, and patience trial, and trial hope, and hope confoundeth not, because the charity of God is poured out into our hearts.”

[3] Uxor tua sicut vitis abúndans, * in latéribus domus tuæ.
Thy wife as a fruitful vine, * on the sides of thy house.

(2) The second blessing enjoyed by the man “that fears God and walks in his ways” consists in his having only one wife, should he ever marry; and, in marrying, that he will be influenced more by a desire of propagating the human race than by any sinful or unworthy desires, as the Angel admonished Tobias when he said, “Thou shalt take the virgin with the fear of the Lord, moved rather for love of children than for lust;” and Tobias himself truly said, “And now, Lord, thou knowest that not for fleshly lust do I take my sister to wife, but only for the love of posterity.” He, therefore, says, “thy wife,” not thy wives nor thy concubines, “as a fruitful vine,” with a large family, like a fruitful vine that sends out a number of branches, “on the sides of the house;” a domestic wife, that stays at home, looking after the business indoors, while her husband cares the business outside.
This, to be sure, is a blessing to a certain extent; but, to give us to understand that it is not so very great a blessing, God was pleased to withhold it from many of his most faithful and devoted friends in the married state, such as Abraham and Sara, Isaac and Rebecca, Zachary and Elizabeth; and he also inspired many with a resolution of observing holy virginity, such as it is credibly believed of the holy prophets Elias and Jeremias, and is well known of the Blessed Virgin, St. John Baptist, St. Joseph, and hosts besides, who certainly would not have been deprived of the happiness had not virginity been a much superior gift. With that, those saints who never married, or had no offspring, if they had no family in one sense they had in another, far and away beyond it. Christ, for instance, who is the head of all the saints, was never married, had no children in the flesh, yet he had the Church for his spouse, and children in the spirit, nearly innumerable. So with Abraham, who had only one child by Sara, and yet, by faith, was made the father of many nations; for all the faithful are called “children of Abraham” by the Apostle. And what is more wonderful, these holy men are not only the fathers, but they are even the mothers of those whom they have brought to the faith, or to penance; for they are their fathers by reason of their preaching to them by word and example, and they are their mothers by reason of their praying and sighing for them. The same Apostle calls himself father when he says, “I write not these things to shame you, but I admonish you as my dearest children; for, if you have ten thousand instructors in Christ, yet not many fathers. For in Christ Jesus I have begotten you through the Gospel;” and he calls himself their mother in another place, where he says, “My little children, of whom I am in labour again.”

[3a] Fílii tui sicut novéllæ olivárum, * in circúitu mensæ tuæ.
Thy children as olive plants, * round about thy table.

(3)  “Thy children as olive plants round about thy table.” The third blessing, the education of the children, is now introduced. They who fear God and walk in his ways, will not only have many children, but they will be well brought up and educated, because they will be taught, from their earliest infancy, to fear God and to walk in his ways. He, therefore, says, “Thy children as olive plants, round about thy table.” They will be like the choicest shrubs, the olive plants, that are evergreens, and bear most valuable fruit, and not like briars, or brambles, or shrubs that bear no fruit, and they will be “round about thy table,” that, by beholding them all together, eating with them, and living with them, you may have the greater pleasure and enjoyment with them. This, too, applies to the children in the Spirit, whom the father feeds with the word of God; and when he sees how they progress is wonderfully delighted, and, with the Apostle, says, “My joy and my crown; so stand fast in the Lord, my most dearly beloved.”

[4] Ecce, sic benedicétur homo, * qui timet Dóminum.
Behold, thus shall the man be blessed * that feareth the Lord.
[5] Benedícat tibi Dóminus ex Sion: * et vídeas bona Jerúsalem ómnibus diébus vitæ tuæ.
May the Lord bless thee out of Sion: * and mayst thou see the good things of Jerusalem all the days of thy life.
[6] Et vídeas fílios filiórum tuórum, * pacem super Israël.
And mayst thou see thy children’s children, * peace upon Israel.

(4) Blessing the fourth, through which the man who fears God will be joyful for the blessings conferred on himself in particular, and also for those conferred on the community in general; and he, therefore, adds, that he will be so blessed by the Lord who dwells in Sion, that during his lifetime he will see all manner of good things abounding in Jerusalem, and will see his children’s children therein equally happy; and, finally, a lasting peace, that guards and protects everything, enjoyed by the people of Israel.
In a spiritual sense, and in one more intended by the Holy Ghost, a happiness as far above the three last named, as the heavens are above the earth, and God above his creatures, is described; and the prophet therefore, does not describe it by way of narration, but rather preaches and announces it to us. “Behold,” he says, in addition to all I have said, “thus shall the man be blessed that feareth the Lord,” for to him will be said, “May the Lord bless thee out of Sion;” may he bless you not only on earth, by bestowing all earthly blessings on you, but may he, furthermore, bless you from his holy mountain, from his highest dwelling place, and grant you “that thou mayest see the good things of Jerusalem all the days of thy life;” that you may see God, in whom are all the good things of Jerusalem, “all the days of thy life,” forever, unto ages of ages; for as the soul is immortal, as is the body, too, after the short sleep of death, when it will rise immortal, unquestionably the good things we see here are not seen all the days of our life, on the contrary they are only seen during a small portion of the days of our life, so that we may truly say, “The days of our life are few, and full of evil;” while we shall really see the good things of the heavenly Jerusalem all the days of our life, which will have no end, as will the wicked see the evil things of Babylon all the days of their everlasting death. We are not to be surprised at the prophets having said, “mayest thou see,” instead of mayest thou possess the good things of Jerusalem, because the good things of the Jerusalem above are possessed by seeing them, as perfect happiness consists purely of the beatific vision as St. John, in his first Epistle says, “We shall be like to him,” most blessed and happy, and almost gods, “because we shall see him as he is.” Another addition to the happiness of the blessed in their country above, will consist in their beholding there “the children of their children;” that is, not only those who, through them, were born to God, but also the children of those children who, to the end of the world, shall have been brought to God, and will thus have cause of rejoicing for them all as if they belonged to themselves. To crown their happiness, they will see “peace upon Israel,” firm, lasting, and solid peace, inspiring the greatest confidence and security in all the inhabitants of the heavenly Jerusalem for all eternity; for they will see all their enemies laid perfectly prostrate under Christ’s footstool; that is, hurled down to the lowest depths, and bound there in chains for eternity, for “the earth is God’s footstool;” and all the wicked will lie shut up under it through everlasting ages.

Psalm 126 (after Bellarmine)

David introduces the Psalms. Master Jean de Mandeville,
(French, active 1350 - 1370) [Getty Museum]

We are continuing to build the pages of the Little Office website. Below is Psalm 126, from None, with notes based on St Robert Bellarmine's explanations.

Totus tuus ego sum 
Et omnia mea tua sunt;
Tecum tutus semper sum:
Ad Jesum per Mariam

[ ]  Footnotes are not hyperlinked but refer to the notes after the Psalm.

Psalmus 126

Nisi Dominus. Nothing can be done without God's grace and blessing.

[1] Nisi Dóminus ædificáverit domum, * in vanum laboravérunt qui ædíficant eam.
Unless the Lord build the house, * they labour in vain that build it.
 [1a] Nisi Dóminus custodíerit civitátem, * frustra vígilat qui custódit eam.
Unless the Lord keep the city, * he watcheth in vain that keepeth it.
 [2] Vanum est vobis ante lucem súrgere: * súrgite postquam sedéritis, qui manducátis panem dolóris.
It is vain for you to rise before light, * rise ye after you have sitten, you that eat the bread of sorrow.
 [3] Cum déderit diléctis suis somnum: * ecce heréditas Dómini fílii: merces, fructus ventris.
When he shall give sleep to his beloved, *[3a] behold the inheritance of the Lord are children: the reward, the fruit of the womb.
 [4] Sicut sagíttæ in manu poténtis: * ita fílii excussórum.
As arrows in the hand of the mighty, * so the children of them that have been shaken.
 [5] Beátus vir, qui implévit desidérium suum ex ipsis: * non confundétur cum loquétur inimícis suis in porta.
Blessed is the man that hath filled the desire with them; * he shall not be confounded when he shall speak to his enemies in the gate.

Notes

[1] Nisi Dóminus ædificáverit domum, * in vanum laboravérunt qui ædíficant eam.
Unless the Lord build the house, * they labour in vain that build it. [1a] Nisi Dóminus custodíerit civitátem, * frustra vígilat qui custódit eam.
Unless the Lord keep the city, * he watcheth in vain that keepeth it.

These words were addressed to the Jews when they were building the house of God, that is, the temple, at a time that the work was progressing but slowly, by reason of the obstructions offered by the surrounding nations, as we read in 1 Esdras. They are admonished to bear in mind that the work of man is of no value, unless God, the principal builder, be there to help them; and, therefore, that they should work not only with their hands, but also with their hearts and their lips, in invoking God, and confiding mainly in his help. “Unless the Lord build the house;” unless God, on being invoked with confidence, assists the workmen, “they labour in vain that build it;” all their labour is gone for nothing, and will be so.
This is also addressed to the heads of the Church who, by the preaching of God’s word, seek to bring souls to him, and of them, to build up a temple, (the Church,) to the Lord, as we read in Corinthians, “You are God’s building;” and further on, “As a wise architect I have laid the foundation, and another buildeth thereon.” But unless the primary architect be there, he who said, “On this rock I will build my church,” in vain will men build, and doctors preach, because, as the Lord himself said, “Without me you can do nothing.” [It seems that all the labours expended since and in the name of 'the spirit of Vatican II have been in vain. This suggests that the labour has not been the labour of the Lord, neither has it been blessed by Him].
The same applies to everyone of us, for we are bound, through acts of faith, hope, and love, to build up a house in heaven; for, as St. Augustine has it, “Such a house is founded on faith, built up on hope, and finished off by charity; nor is anyone who has not previously prepared such a house ever admitted as a citizen in the heavenly country.” Such a house is constructed rather by prayer and lamentation, than by manual labour, because, “we are not sufficient to think anything of ourselves, as of ourselves.”—“Unless the Lord keep the city, he watcheth in vain that keepeth it.” [See also: [26] And every one that heareth these my words, and doth them not, shall be like a foolish man that built his house upon the sand,
Et omnis qui audit verba mea haec, et non facit ea, similis erit viro stulto, qui aedificavit domum suam super arenam :
[27] And the rain fell, and the floods came, and the winds blew, and they beat upon that house, and it fell, and great was the fall thereof.
et descendit pluvia, et venerunt flumina, et flaverunt venti, et irruerunt in domum illam, et cecidit, et fuit ruina illius magna. [Martt 7]
When the city was being built after the captivity, they had to build it and guard it at the same time, as we read in 2 Esdras. The nations round about them not only sought to prevent them from building, but they demolished everything that was built if they could; and thus the children of Israel had to proceed with the sword in one hand, and the tools in the other, and many had to stand guard continually. Yet all this guarding would have been of no avail, had not the Lord chosen to guard the city. This, too, applies to the heads of the Church, whose duty it is both to build it up, and to guard it. Because we are surrounded by enemies, who hate nothing more than the extension of the Church, and though bishops get a very high position in the Church to look out as if from a watch tower, from which they can see everything, and thus guard the people; still, as they cannot penetrate men’s hearts, nor be everywhere with everyone, they cannot but feel that, “Unless the Lord keep the city, he watcheth in vain that keepeth it.” The same is very apt to occur to ourselves, when we, through good works, begin to build up a house, for enemies will not be wanting to seek to destroy the work so begun, by various temptations; and, hence, the Apostle arms us when he says, “Wherefore take unto you the armor of God, that you may be able to resist in the evil day;” and a little further on, “In all things taking the shield of faith, wherewith you may be able to extinguish all the fiery darts of the most wicked one.” But unless God be with us, to guard us who slumber so often, and fight for us, all our labour will be in vain.

[2] Vanum est vobis ante lucem súrgere: * súrgite postquam sedéritis, qui manducátis panem dolóris.
It is vain for you to rise before light, * rise ye after you have sitten, you that eat the bread of sorrow.
[3] Cum déderit diléctis suis somnum: *[3a] ecce heréditas Dómini fílii: merces, fructus ventris.
When he shall give sleep to his beloved, * behold the inheritance of the Lord are children: the reward, the fruit of the womb.

The children of Israel, in their anxiety, while so harassed, were wont to rise before day, in order to expedite the building; and, therefore, the Holy Ghost admonishes them that their turning to work before day would be of no advantage to them, unless the Lord would assist them; but with him as a helper, with their hope firmly reposed in him, that the work would go on prosperously, even though they may not go to work until after the rising of the sun. “It is vain for you to rise before light;” you have no business whatever in beginning to work before day, unless the Lord shall build with you; and, therefore, trust in him, put up your prayers constantly to him. “Rise ye after you have sitten;” after the necessary rest of the night, rise to your work, “you that eat the bread of sorrow,” you who now lead a miserable and a sorrowful life by reason of the continual harassing of your enemies.

The prelates of the Church, and the faithful, individually, are admonished, that in the building of a house, whether for themselves or for a community, they should not confide more in working than in praying, and should seek to imitate our Lord, who watched all night in prayer, as we read in Luke, “And he passed the whole night in the prayer of God,” while by day he addressed people, and confirmed what he said by miracles; as also the Apostle, who says in the Acts, “But we will give ourselves continually to prayer, and to the ministry of the word.”—“It is vain for you to rise before light,” to waste all your time in building and watching it. “Rise ye after you have sitten,” go to your work after you shall have rested in prayer and contemplation. “You that eat the bread of sorrow;” you who, in your longings for your heavenly country, daily groan and exclaim, “My tears have been my bread day and night, whilst it is said to me daily, where is thy God?” For ardent lovers, when they cannot behold the thing they love, are supported by sighing and groaning for it, and thus their tears become bread to them day and night; that is, a dinner by day and a supper by night. “When he shall give sleep to his beloved.”
He now consoles them after his exhortations and admonitions, prophesying that it would come to pass, that after the present tribulations God would give peace to his people, and that the children of Israel would be manifestly “God’s inheritance,” would become so powerful and so brave that they would never again have to suffer anything from the enemy, a prophecy that concerns the new people; that is, the Church of Christ, of which the temple and the city were a type. For as St. Augustine proves, after the restoration of the city and the temple, matters were every day getting worse with the Jews, until the city was laid in ruins, and the temple burned, under Titus and Vespasian. He, therefore, says, “When he shall give sleep to his beloved,” when he shall have given peace and rest to his people, by sending them the true Solomon, to build up the real temple, the Church which he will establish and propagate, and to which he will subject all the rulers of the world.
[3a] “Behold, the inheritance of the Lord are children, the reward the fruit of the womb;” that is to say, then, it will appear that many children are the inheritance of the Lord, as he says in Psalm 2, “Ask of me, and I will give thee the gentiles for thy inheritance, and the utmost parts of the earth for thy possession,” and the “reward” of the same Christ our Lord will be the fruit of the womb; that is, many children, according to Isaias, “If he shall lay down his life for sin, he shall see a long lived seed;” for, as we have frequently remarked, repetitions are of most common occurrence in the Scripture, and thus “the inheritance of the Lord are children,” is one and the same with “the reward the fruit of the womb;” that is to say, the inheritance and the reward of Christ, our Lord, will be many children, who are nothing else than the fruit of the womb.
If we look for a more sublime meaning in these words, we must make them foretell the happiness of the Jerusalem above; that is, which awaits those, who, in the resurrection, after the sleep of a temporary death, hastened, as they ought, to get up to their country on the wings of faith and love; and he, therefore, says, “When he shall give sleep to his beloved;” when, after various labours and contests, God shall give all his beloved, the pastors of his Church, who were its builders, as well as the faithful, in particular, who built up their own house by good works, the sleep and repose of a happy death. “Behold, the inheritance of the Lord are children; the reward, the fruit of the womb.” It will appear on the day of judgment, that God’s children are God’s inheritance, because they will then obtain life everlasting, and will pass over to the everlasting possession and inheritance of God; and they will also be the reward of Christ, who is the fruit of the womb, because the salvation of the elect is Christ’s reward, inasmuch as it was he, who, by his sufferings and death, got grace and glory for them.

[4] Sicut sagíttæ in manu poténtis: * ita fílii excussórum.
As arrows in the hand of the mighty, * so the children of them that have been shaken.
The prophet now relates the strength of the children of Christ, who are his inheritance and his reward, and says, they will have great strength and power, as great as the arrows that are shot from the bow of a strong and powerful archer, which pierce everything; and this is only in reference to their spiritual strength, which is as remarkable in its action as it is in its power of endurance; for when they confound like thunder and lightning, when they bring infidels to the faith, or sinners to penance, by the fire of their preaching, by the brightness of their sanctity, and the power of their miracles; and when, in their struggles for the faith and for piety, they endure, even unto death, all manner of torments with the most incredible patience and fortitude, what else are they but arrows in the hand of the mighty?
But why are those brave children called “the children of them that have been shaken?” Because they are the children of the outcasts and the wretched, the children of the prophets and the Apostles; and of the former, the Apostle writes, Heb. 11, “Others had trial of mockeries and stripes, moreover also of bonds and prisons; they were stoned, they were cut asunder, they were tempted, they were put to death by the sword, they wandered about in sheep skins, in goat skins, being in want, distressed, afflicted; of whom the world was not worthy;” and, speaking of the Apostles, the same Apostle says, 1 Cor. 4, “For I think that God hath set forth us, Apostles, the last, as it were, men destined to death; because we are made a spectacle to the world, and to Angels, and to men. Even unto this hour, we both hunger and thirst, and are naked, and are buffeted, and have no fixed abode; and we labour, working with our own hands; we are reviled and we bless; we are persecuted, and we suffer it; we are ill spoken of, and we entreat: we are made as the refuse of this world; the off scouring of all even till now.” And yet, they, so shaken off and rejected, turned out to be the bravest of the brave, and had a most extraordinary triumph over the world and the demons. All the elect are the children of the aforesaid, who, “like arrows in the hand of the mighty,” have wounded and conquered their enemies.

[5] Beátus vir, qui implévit desidérium suum ex ipsis: * non confundétur cum loquétur inimícis suis in porta.
Blessed is the man that hath filled the desire with them; * he shall not be confounded when he shall speak to his enemies in the gate.

He now concludes the Psalm by long and loud congratulations to Christ our Lord. “Blessed is the man that hath filled his desire with them.” Truly happy is he, Christ to wit, “that hath filled his desire with them;” his children, because he got the full extent of his desire, the salvation and glory of his children, for whom he did and suffered so much; and therefore, “he shall not be confounded when he shall speak to his enemies in the gates;” that is to say, in the last judgment, that will be held in a tolerably extensive gate; for it will be in the assemblage of the whole world. “He shall not be confounded when he shall speak to his enemies,” be they demons or sinners; but he will rather confound them, and bring them in guilty of injustice and imbecility; for the whole contention between Christ and the devil and his ministers, from the beginning to the end of the world, turned upon the salvation of mankind, on whose ruin the evil spirit was always bent, and in order to effect which he raised up, in so many succeeding ages, so many persecutions of Jews, pagans, heretics, and bad members of all classes against the Church. But when, on the day of judgment, the countless thousands of the elect reigning in glory with Christ, crowned in triumph, and in great rejoicing shall appear; and, on the other hand, the wicked shall appear deprived of all power, and having been justly condemned to eternal punishment, shall have no hope of getting up the war again, then Christ, instead of being confounded, will confound all his enemies.

Psalm 125 (after Bellarmine)

David introduces the Psalms. Master Jean de Mandeville,
(French, active 1350 - 1370) [Getty Museum]

We are continuing to build the pages of the Little Office website. Below is Psalm 125, from None, with notes based on St Robert Bellarmine's explanations.

Totus tuus ego sum 
Et omnia mea tua sunt;
Tecum tutus semper sum:
Ad Jesum per Mariam

[ ]  Footnotes are not hyperlinked but refer to the notes after the Psalm. 

Psalmus 125

In convertendo. The people of God rejoice at their delivery from captivity.

[1] In converténdo Dóminus captivitátem Sion: * facti sumus sicut consoláti:
When the Lord brought back the captivity of Sion, * we became like men comforted.
 [2] Tunc replétum est gáudio os nostrum: * et lingua nostra exsultatióne.
Then was our mouth filled with gladness; * and our tongue with joy.
 [2a] Tunc dicent inter gentes: * Magnificávit Dóminus fácere cum eis.
Then shall they say among the Gentiles: * The Lord hath done great things for them.
 [3] Magnificávit Dóminus fácere nobíscum: * facti sumus lætántes.
The Lord hath done great things for us: * we are become joyful.
 [4] Convérte, Dómine, captivitátem nostram, * sicut torrens in Austro.
Turn again our captivity, O Lord, * as a stream in the south.
 [5] Qui séminant in lácrimis, * in exsultatióne metent.
They that sow in tears * shall reap in joy.
 [6] Eúntes ibant et flebant, * mitténtes sémina sua.
Going they went and wept, * casting their seeds.
 [7] Veniéntes autem vénient cum exsultatióne, * portántes manípulos suos.
But coming they shall come with joyfulness, * carrying their sheaves.

Notes

[1] In converténdo Dóminus captivitátem Sion: * facti sumus sicut consoláti:
When the Lord brought back the captivity of Sion, * we became like men comforted.
 When we first heard of the decree of our emancipation, and of our return to our country, we could, through joy, hardly believe it; and we were like those who, when in great affliction and trouble, get some comforting news, becoming, all at once blithe and merry, from being grave and sad. And this self same unspeakable consolation is always felt by those who are seriously converted to God, and, despising the hopes of this world, and abandoning all desire for the goods of this world, “direct their steps in the path of peace.” They know the value of being rescued from the captivity of the devil, from the depths of the pit, and the being prepared for the enjoyment of true liberty and everlasting peace, through the call and the guidance of the Almighty. Interior joy will not fail to show itself externally, which it does by the expression of joy on the countenance and gladness on the tongue.

[2] Tunc replétum est gáudio os nostrum: * et lingua nostra exsultatióne.
Then was our mouth filled with gladness; * and our tongue with joy.
“Then,” when we got the good news of our delivery, “was our mouth filled with gladness,” our face appeared blithe and merry, and “our tongue, with joy,” burst out into expressions of joy and gladness.

[2a] Tunc dicent inter gentes: * Magnificávit Dóminus fácere cum eis.
Then shall they say among the Gentiles: * The Lord hath done great things for them.

“Then shall they say among the gentiles.” The news of said emancipation not only gladdened the hearts of the emancipated, but it even astonished the gentiles when they heard it, and they could not help exclaiming, “The Lord hath done great things for them;” the Lord has behaved most magnificently to his people; for though it was Cyrus that liberated the Jews after so long a captivity, we can easily understand that he was prompted thereto by God, for he did it at the very time Jeremias prophesied it would be done, after seventy years; and Cyrus himself avowed that he got his power and command from heaven, and that he got an order from heaven to let the people go, and to build the temple in Jerusalem; and, finally, it could not be expected that any king would let so many thousand captives go free without the smallest ransom, and not only so dismiss them, but load them with presents on their departure, had he not felt himself constrained thereto from above. The gentiles, then, could not help attributing the whole to divine interposition.

[3] Magnificávit Dóminus fácere nobíscum: * facti sumus lætántes.
The Lord hath done great things for us: * we are become joyful.

 The emancipated, quite pleased with the gentiles’ notions on the matter being only in accordance with the facts, thus reply. It is the fact that the Lord dealt nobly with us, beyond our merits and our expectations, when he brought us from a miserable captivity to this our sweetest native land; and thus “we are become joyful;” we who had hitherto been groaning in sorrow, captives as we were.

[4] Convérte, Dómine, captivitátem nostram, * sicut torrens in Austro.
Turn again our captivity, O Lord, * as a stream in the south.

 As all the captives did not come home together—for some came, in the first instance, with Esdras, and then another party with Nehemias—the first party, then, pray to God for the return of all the captives, and they take up the simile of a torrent that is wont to run with great force and violence in a southerly gale; hence they say, “Turn again, O Lord, our captivity.” Bring back our captives, the majority of whom are still in the land of the stranger; and bring them back at once, as quickly “as a stream in the south;” for when the wind blows from the south, the rain falls, the streams and the rivers rise, and the great flood rolls rapidly on to the ocean, and that without delay or obstruction. If the exiles, on their return, prayed to God so earnestly, what amount of earnestness will not be required of us, still exiles as we are? For though some have got home, have come to their country, yet many are still in exile, on the road, nay more, many are quite reconciled to the captivity, and have become so attached to the things of this world that they don’t bestow even a thought on their country; it was, then, absolutely necessary that the Lord, with all the violence of a torrent, when the south wind blows, should force them and compel them to ascend. In conclusion, then, the former, as well as the latter, are, to a certain extent, captives; for “all expect that every creature shall be delivered from the servitude of corruption;” and even the blessed in heaven included. It is for this perfect liberty of the children of God, of which St. Paul treats in Rome, chap. 8, that we most properly pray when we say, “Turn again our captivity as a stream in the south.” The south means the south wind that usually preceded rain, and caused the streams and rivers to fill and run with rapidity; most expressive of the tide of captives returning back again in crowds and in haste to their beloved country.

[5] Qui séminant in lácrimis, * in exsultatióne metent.
They that sow in tears * shall reap in joy. 

Having asked God to bring back all the captives to their country, he now addresses the captives themselves, and exhorts them not to be deterred by the labour of the journey, or to be detained by regard for any property they may have acquired in a foreign land, as they were sure to have much more and more valuable property in their own; and most happily compares them to the sower and the reaper; the one ordinarily does his work in grief and sorrow, being obliged to put his corn into the ground without having any certainty of ever getting the smallest return from it; and, therefore, seems to labour and to tire himself in order to lose what he has; but when the harvest comes, he reaps with great joy when he sees the corn that, to all appearance, was lost, is now, instead of being lost, returned to him with an enormous increase. This applies peculiarly to us, pilgrims as we are; for those who are content with their captivity, and are so engaged by the love of this world as never to think on their country, heaven; they look upon the road adopted by the just to be nothing better than a positive loss and an injury. While the true exiles make all the haste they can to their country above; they freely give to the poor, who will never return what is given; they labour, without fee or reward, in teaching their brethren, as did the Apostles; they freely renounce all manner of pleasure; all which seems the height of folly to those who know not what is to come of it, while, in reality, it is “sowing in tears,” that they may afterwards, in due time, “reap in joy.” And if they who are still so attached to their captivity, would seriously reflect on this, they certainly would change their mind, would begin to go up, and, no matter what it may cost them, they would sow the seed, that they may soon after reap it in joy in the kingdom of heaven.

[6] Eúntes ibant et flebant, * mitténtes sémina sua.
Going they went and wept, * casting their seeds.
[7] Veniéntes autem vénient cum exsultatióne, * portántes manípulos suos.
But coming they shall come with joyfulness, * carrying their sheaves.
 He now describes, at greater length, the process of sowing and reaping. “Going they went;” the labourers and farmers went from their house to the field; “and wept, casting their seeds;” had much pain and trouble while shaking the seed, from the uncertainty of their ever having any return. But, in harvest time, when coming home, “they shall come with joyfulness, carrying their sheaves;” bringing back whole armsfull in return for a few grains. This so peculiarly applies to the virtue of almsgiving that it cannot but be of use to consider in what respect the seed may be compared with alms, in the hope that they “who have in their heart disposed to ascend by steps” may be more encouraged to divide freely with the poor. The grain that is sown is very small, and yet produces such a number of grains as to seem almost incredible; thus it is with alms, a small thing, a poor thing as being a human act; but when properly sown, produces, not money, nor food, nor clothes, but an eternal kingdom; Just as if the grain of wheat that we sow should produce an ear of gold instead of an ear of wheat, studded with precious stones instead of grains of wheat. Then, the grain put into the ground must corrupt and die or else it will not sprout, as our Lord has it in the Gospel, “Unless the grain of wheat fall into the ground and die, itself remaineth alone;” thus alms must be freely bestowed as a right, and not as a loan, and to those only who cannot return it; and it must be given to corrupt and perish, that is, without the slightest hope of getting it back in this world; for when thus lost and corrupted, it will not fail to shoot out again, and produce much fruit in life everlasting. Again, the grain put into the ground needs both sun and rain to germinate; and so with alms, which, as well as all other good works, needs the sun of divine grace, and the showers of the blood of the Mediator; that is, in order to become meritorious, they must spring from the grace of God, that has its source in the blood of Christ; for then a matter of the greatest insignificance becomes one of the greatest value, by reason of the stamp impressed upon it by grace; and thus merits, not only as a favor, but as a right, the grace of life everlasting. There is this difference between the sowing of the seed and the distribution of alms, that many things may occur to the former that may prevent the reaping in gladness, though they may have sowed in tears; because the seed may not sprout for want of rain; or it may be cut down, after sprouting, by slugs and worms; or, even after ripening, it may he stolen or burned. But alms, when given with a proper intention, is always safe; for it is stored up in heaven, where neither moths, nor flies, nor thieves can come near it. They, then, who sow such spiritual seed in tears, will unquestionably reap fruit in great joy.

Psalm 124 (after Bellarmine)

David introduces the Psalms. Master Jean de Mandeville,
(French, active 1350 - 1370) [Getty Museum]

We are continuing to build the pages of the Little Office website. Below is Psalm 124, from Sext, with notes based on St Robert Bellarmine's explanations.

Totus tuus ego sum 
Et omnia mea tua sunt;
Tecum tutus semper sum:
Ad Jesum per Mariam

[ ]  Footnotes are not hyperlinked but refer to the notes after the Psalm.

Psalm 124

Qui confidunt. The just are always under God's protection.

[1] Qui confídunt in Dómino, sicut mons Sion: * non commovébitur in ætérnum, qui hábitat in Jerúsalem.
They that trust in the Lord shall be as mount Sion: * he shall not be moved for ever that dwelleth in Jerusalem.

[2] Montes in circúitu ejus: * et Dóminus in circúitu pópuli sui, ex hoc nunc et usque in sæculum.
Mountains are round about it: * so the Lord is round about his people from henceforth now and for ever.

[3] Quia non relínquet Dóminus virgam peccatórum super sortem justórum: * ut non exténdant justi ad iniquitátem manus suas.
For the Lord will not leave the rod of sinners upon the lot of the just: * that the just may not stretch forth their hands to iniquity.

[4] Bénefac, Dómine, bonis, * et rectis corde.
Do good, O Lord, to those that are good, * and to the upright of heart.

[5] Declinántes autem in obligatiónes addúcet Dóminus cum operántibus iniquitátem: * pax super Israël.
But such as turn aside into bonds, the Lord shall lead out with the workers of iniquity: * peace upon Israel.

Notes

[1] Qui confídunt in Dómino, sicut mons Sion: * non commovébitur in ætérnum, qui hábitat in Jerúsalem.
They that trust in the Lord shall be as mount Sion: * he shall not be moved for ever that dwelleth in Jerusalem.
The prophet commences by laying down a general and most certain promise, and repeats it twice to confirm the truth of it. He says, “They that trust in the Lord shall be as mount Sion.” All they who truly confide and trust in the Lord will be as unmoved and as secure, no matter how great the storm, as mount Sion, which is immoveable, not only by reason of its being a mountain, but by reason also of its being sacred and most dear to God. He repeats it, and at the same time explains it, when he adds, “He shall not be moved forever that dwelleth in Jerusalem,” which last phrase corresponds with the first part of the first sentence, for “shall be as a mountain” is but a different mode of expressing what is conveyed, “He shall not be moved forever,” and “he that dwelleth in Jerusalem” expresses, “They that trust in the Lord.” Because they who dwell in thought and hope in the heavenly Jerusalem are the very ones that trust in the Lord; for thus such trust and confidence is explained in Psalm 90, “He that dwelleth in the aid of the Most High shall abide under the protection of the God of heaven.”

[2] Montes in circúitu ejus: * et Dóminus in circúitu pópuli sui, ex hoc nunc et usque in sæculum.
Mountains are round about it: * so the Lord is round about his people from henceforth now and for ever.
He proves his assertion as to mount Sion being a strong and secure place, and that those who trust in the Lord are much more so. The reason is, that Sion has “mountains round about it” like a wall, but they who trust in the Lord have the Almighty himself round about them; and while the mountains that surround Sion may fall or be leveled, God is round about his people, “henceforth now and forever.” The meaning, then, of these verses is, that all who trust in the Lord ought to feel quite secure, because he protects them from all evil, for though they may sometimes be temporarily afflicted, it is all for their own good; and if God should at any time deprive them of riches, or health, or the like, he gives them something better in lieu thereof, perhaps patience and consolation, with a view to merit life everlasting. The trust spoken of here is not to be confounded with vain presumption, it is the trust that springs from a sincere faith, a pure heart, a good conscience, and fervent love.

[3] Quia non relínquet Dóminus virgam peccatórum super sortem justórum: * ut non exténdant justi ad iniquitátem manus suas.
For the Lord will not leave the rod of sinners upon the lot of the just: * that the just may not stretch forth their hands to iniquity.
He explains a little more clearly how it is that God protects those who confide in his help. For, says he, if God sometimes, for his own just reasons, suffers the wicked to lord it over the just, he will not suffer them to do so for any length of time, for fear the just may despair and turn to the same wickedness; and he, therefore, says, “For the Lord will not leave the rod of the sinners upon the lot of the just.” God will leave the rod, meaning the scepter, the emblem of power, to the sinners for a while, “upon the lot of the just,” on the inheritance, or the portion and lot of the just, but he will not leave them such power long, “that the just may not stretch forth their hands to iniquity,” for fear the just, on seeing the happiness of the wicked so continuous, appearing likely to have no termination, may not persevere in justice.

[4] Bénefac, Dómine, bonis, * et rectis corde.
Do good, O Lord, to those that are good, * and to the upright of heart.
Having said there was danger of the just taking scandal at the prolonged power of the wicked, he turns to God, and prays to him “to do good to those that are good,” by delivering them as quickly as possible from the power of the wicked; or at least, by giving them a copious supply of interior patience and consolation; and, at the same time, he tells and admonishes us that the truly good are they who are “upright of heart,” they who are not scandalized at God’s judgments, but take the most favourable view of everything God does, no matter how long he may suffer the wicked to have everything their own way. They are the upright of heart who conform their heart, that is, their judgment and their will, to that most upright rule of the will and judgment of God, even though they understand not why God does this or that, or why he suffers it to be done; and of such people another Psalm says, “How good is God to Israel, to them that are of a right heart!” They submit to God in everything; God is pleasing to them, and they are to God, just as a straight rod laid on a straight line agrees and coincides with it accurately; while a crooked rod will not agree or lie fair anywhere but in a crooked place.

[5] Declinántes autem in obligatiónes addúcet Dóminus cum operántibus iniquitátem: * pax super Israël.
But such as turn aside into bonds, the Lord shall lead out with the workers of iniquity: * peace upon Israel.
Having prayed all manner of good on the upright of heart, the prophet now issues a terrible threat against those who “turn aside” from such uprightness of heart to a crooked path, who, in persecution or tribulation, lose all patience, or who deny the faith, or complain and murmur against God, and says that they, with the “workers of iniquity,” that is, with the persecutors and the wicked, shall “be led out” for judgment, because, as St. James has it, “Now, whosoever shall keep the whole law, but offend in one, is become guilty of all.” And then, ultimately, on the separation of all the bad from the good, there will be everlasting “peace upon Israel,” that is, on God’s people. The word “bonds” has puzzled many, and hence many explanations of it. I look upon it as being put in opposition to the straight path, so much lauded by the prophet; and when he says, “turn aside into bonds,” he alludes to those who follow the crooked way indicated by a rope twisted into coils or bonds, which is the only interpretation that harmonizes with the rest of the Psalm.