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*H The prayer of the poor man, when he was anxious, and poured out his supplication before the Lord.
Ver. 1. Poor. Heb. "afflicted." This may refer to some of the captives, who were returning, (v. 14. C.) or to Jesus Christ, (S. Aug.) to whom S. Paul applies v. 26. 28. and whose redemption was prefigured by the former event. C. — David might have both in view. H. — Yet most believe that the psalm was written by Daniel, or Jeremias, &c. C. — It may have two literal senses, like many others. Bert.
*H Hear, O Lord, my prayer: and let my cry come to thee.
Ver. 2. Cry. Fervent petition, though only in the heart. Ex. xiv. 15.
*H Turn not away thy face from me: in the day when I am in trouble, incline thy ear to me. In what day soever I shall call upon thee, hear me speedily.
Ver. 3. Turn not. We first abandon God, but must humbly beg for grace. W.
*H For my days are vanished like smoke, and my bones are grown dry like fuel for the fire.
Ver. 4. Fire. Cremium denotes any combustible matter. Colum. xii. 19. S. Jer. C. — While in mortal sin, our best actions, alms, &c. avail nothing. 1 Cor. xiii. W.
*H I am smitten as grass, and my heart is withered: because I forgot to eat my bread.
Ver. 5. Bread. Through excessive sorrow, (H.) I am fainting in captivity. C. — The human race is relieved by the bread of life, the holy Eucharist. S. Aug. Bert. — Sinners have no relish for spiritual food. W.
*H Through the voice of my groaning, my bone hath cleaved to my flesh.
Ver. 6. Flesh, or "skin." S. Jer. — The necessary moisture is consumed. Euseb. W.
*H I am become like to a pelican of the wilderness: I am like a night raven in the house.
Ver. 7. A pelican, &c. I am become, through grief, like birds that affect solitude and darkness. Ch. — Kaath comes from a root that signifies to vomit (H.) as this bird lives chiefly on shell-fish, which it swallows, and when the heat of its stomach has caused the shells to open, it throws them up again, and eats the fish. Bochart. Parkhurst in ka. H. — It seems to be the onocratalus, which resembles the heron. What many of the ancients have related concerning its giving life again to its young, by its blood, &c. must be accounted fabulous. The Fathers have not expressed these facts as certain, (C.) though they have beautifully accommodated them to the tenderness and grace, which Christ has shewn to lost man. See Euseb. and S. Aug. H. — Raven. Owl, or rather another species of pelican, so called from having a bag under its chap, "to inclose" fish, &c. Parkhurst in cose. — With its prey it retires to solitary places. So the distressed love solitude and silence. H.
*H I have watched, and am become as a sparrow all alone on the housetop.
Ver. 8. Sparrow. Heb. Tsippor means any "quick moving" bird, &c. (Idem.) and as the sparrow is not a solitary bird, it may here signify the owl. Bochart. C. — But these etymological reasons are not very certain, nor important. H. — We may adhere to the Sept. as many interpreters do. Bert. — The sparrow having lost its mate, mourns in or near its nest. W.
*H All the day long my enemies reproached me: and they that praised me did swear against me.
Ver. 9. Against me. To kill me, (Acts xxiii. 12.) or to prove my guilt. C. — They are my sworn enemies, (W.) who formerly seemed my friends. H.
*H For I did eat ashes like bread, and mingled my drink with weeping.
Ver. 10. For. Or "therefore." — Weeping. These figurative expressions denote excessive grief. Ps. lxxix. 6. C. — Meat and drink gave me no more satisfaction than ashes. W. — Rolling on the ground, through grief, my food was spoiled. M.
*H But thou, O Lord, endurest for ever: and thy memorial to all generations.
Ver. 13. Memorial. Thou wilt be remembered by us with gratitude for all eternity, (H.) or wilt thou punish for ever such short-lived creatures? C. — S. Paul understands this of Jesus Christ, (Heb. i. 11. Bert.) or he rather refers to v. 26. H. — The hope of the Messias gives me comfort. W.
*H Thou shalt arise and have mercy on Sion: for it is time to have mercy on it, for the time is come.
Ver. 14. Come. Pointed out; (Jer. xxix. 10. C.) or David wishes to repair the ravages caused by Absalom, or foretells the return from captivity, (H.) and the grace granted to the Church, and to every faithful soul. W.
* Summa
*S Part 4, Ques 1, Article 6
[III, Q. 1, Art. 6]
Whether the Incarnation Ought to Have Been Put Off Till the End of the World?
Objection 1: It would seem that the work of the Incarnation ought to have been put off till the end of the world. For it is written (Ps. 91:11): "My old age in plentiful mercy"--i.e. "in the last days," as a gloss says. But the time of the Incarnation is especially the time of mercy, according to Ps. 101:14: "For it is time to have mercy on it." Therefore the Incarnation ought to have been put off till the end of the world.
Obj. 2: Further, as has been said (A. 5, ad 3), in the same subject, perfection is subsequent in time to imperfection. Therefore, what is most perfect ought to be the very last in time. But the highest perfection of human nature is in the union with the Word, because "in Christ it hath pleased the Father that all the fulness of the Godhead should dwell," as the Apostle says (Col. 1:19, and 2:9). Therefore the Incarnation ought to have been put off till the end of the world.
Obj. 3: Further, what can be done by one ought not to be done by two. But the one coming of Christ at the end of the world was sufficient for the salvation of human nature. Therefore it was not necessary for Him to come beforehand in His Incarnation; and hence the Incarnation ought to have been put off till the end of the world.
_On the contrary,_ It is written (Hab. 3:2): "In the midst of the years Thou shalt make it known." Therefore the mystery of the Incarnation which was made known to the world ought not to have been put off till the end of the world.
_I answer that,_ As it was not fitting that God should become incarnate at the beginning of the world, so also it was not fitting that the Incarnation should be put off till the end of the world. And this is shown first from the union of the Divine and human nature. For, as it has been said (A. 5, ad 3), perfection precedes imperfection in time in one way, and contrariwise in another way imperfection precedes perfection. For in that which is made perfect from being imperfect, imperfection precedes perfection in time, whereas in that which is the efficient cause of perfection, perfection precedes imperfection in time. Now in the work of the Incarnation both concur; for by the Incarnation human nature is raised to its highest perfection; and in this way it was not becoming that the Incarnation should take place at the beginning of the human race. And the Word incarnate is the efficient cause of the perfection of human nature, according to John 1:16: "Of His fulness we have all received"; and hence the work of the Incarnation ought not to have been put off till the end of the world. But the perfection of glory to which human nature is to be finally raised by the Word Incarnate will be at the end of the world.
Secondly, from the effect of man's salvation; for, as is said _Qq. Vet. et Nov. Test., qu. 83,_ "it is in the power of the Giver to have pity when, or as much as, He wills. Hence He came when He knew it was fitting to succor, and when His boons would be welcome. For when by the feebleness of the human race men's knowledge of God began to grow dim and their morals lax, He was pleased to choose Abraham as a standard of the restored knowledge of God and of holy living; and later on when reverence grew weaker, He gave the law to Moses in writing; and because the gentiles despised it and would not take it upon themselves, and they who received it would not keep it, being touched with pity, God sent His Son, to grant to all remission of their sin and to offer them, justified, to God the Father." But if this remedy had been put off till the end of the world, all knowledge and reverence of God and all uprightness of morals would have been swept away from the earth.
Thirdly, this appears fitting to the manifestation of the Divine power, which has saved men in several ways--not only by faith in some future thing, but also by faith in something present and past.
Reply Obj. 1: This gloss has in view the mercy of God, which leads us to glory. Nevertheless, if it is referred to the mercy shown the human race by the Incarnation of Christ, we must reflect that, as Augustine says (Retract. i), the time of the Incarnation may be compared to the youth of the human race, "on account of the strength and fervor of faith, which works by charity"; and to old age--i.e. the sixth age--on account of the number of centuries, for Christ came in the sixth age. And although youth and old age cannot be together in a body, yet they can be together in a soul, the former on account of quickness, the latter on account of gravity. And hence Augustine says elsewhere (Qq. lxxxiii, qu. 44) that "it was not becoming that the Master by Whose imitation the human race was to be formed to the highest virtue should come from heaven, save in the time of youth." But in another work (De Gen. cont. Manich. i, 23) he says: that Christ came in the sixth age--i.e. in the old age--of the human race.
Reply Obj. 2: The work of the Incarnation is to be viewed not as merely the terminus of a movement from imperfection to perfection, but also as a principle of perfection to human nature, as has been said.
Reply Obj. 3: As Chrysostom says on John 3:11, "For God sent not His Son into the world to judge the world" (Hom. xxviii): "There are two comings of Christ: the first, for the remission of sins; the second, to judge the world. For if He had not done so, all would have perished together, since all have sinned and need the glory of God." Hence it is plain that He ought not to have put off the coming in mercy till the end of the world. _______________________
*H For the stones thereof have pleased thy servants: and they shall have pity on the earth thereof.
Ver. 15. Thereof. They had a great regard for the very soil. 4 K. v. 17. C. — Heb. "dust," as it was then uncultivated. Bert. — Esdras, &c. repaired the ruins of Sion, as Christ and his apostles established the Church. M.
*H All the Gentiles shall fear thy name, O Lord, and all the kings of the earth thy glory.
Ver. 16. Glory. The conversion of nations is often predicted as about to take place after the captivity; yet not so fully, till the time of Christ. C. — His glory is so manifest, that all kings know it, although they be not converted. W.
*H For the Lord hath built up Sion: and he shall be seen in his glory.
Ver. 17. Seen. Dwelling with us. Jo. 1. H. — Jerusalem had attained its ancient splendour before the coming of the Messias. C.
*H He hath had regard to the prayer of the humble: and he hath not despised their petition.
Ver. 18. Humble. Patriarchs, priests, and all true penitents. W.
*H Let these things be written unto another generation: and the people that shall be created shall praise the Lord:
Ver. 19. Generation. Lit. "in another," by the subsequent writers of the Old and New Testaments. H. — Let all posterity become acquainted with this psalm, and know under what obligations we have been to the Lord. — Created. The Jews after the captivity, and, in a higher sense, (C.) Christians, the new creature. 2 Cor. v. 17. C. W. — This interpretation seems much the better, as kings and nations were converted only by the Messias, and his apostles. Bert.
*H That they may declare the name of the Lord in Sion: and his praise in Jerusalem;
Ver. 22. That. The faithful in the Church endeavour to serve Christ. W.
*H When the people assemble together, and kings, to serve the Lord.
Ver. 23. Kings. This did not take place till the gospel was preached, (C.) though some kings offered sacrifice before, yet without being converted. See Zach. ii. 10. H.
*H He answered him in the way of his strength: Declare unto me the fewness of my days.
Ver. 24. He answered him in the way of his strength. That is, the people mentioned in the foregoing verse, or the penitent, in whose person this psalm is delivered, answered the Lord in the way of his strength: that is, according to the best of his power and strength; inquiring after the fewness of his days: to know if he should live long enough to see the happy restoration of Sion, &c. Ch. — The sense of the Vulg. is as good as that of the present Heb. "he hath weakened (afflicted. Mont.) my strength, in the way; He hath shortened my days. I said, my God, make me not depart in the midst," &c. — The captives, or those who were set free, address God, though the psalmist himself may express what prayers he had poured forth in his bonds. C. — The variation of the Sept. and Heb. originates in the points; and the text has, his force, very properly, though the Jews would substitute "my." Bert. — The stability of the Church is hence proved by S. Aug. H.
*H Call me not away in the midst of my days: thy years are unto generation and generation.
Ver. 25. Days. Allow me time to grow in virtue. W. If I be cut off in my youth, I may not be prepared. M.
* Summa
*S Part 1, Ques 91, Article 4
[I, Q. 91, Art. 4]
Whether the Production of the Human Body Is Fittingly Described in Scripture?
Objection 1: It would seem that the production of the human body is not fittingly described in Scripture. For, as the human body was made by God, so also were the other works of the six days. But in the other works it is written, "God said; Let it be made, and it was made." Therefore the same should have been said of man.
Obj. 2: Further, the human body was made by God immediately, as explained above (A. 2). Therefore it was not fittingly said, "Let us make man."
Obj. 3: Further, the form of the human body is the soul itself which is the breath of life. Therefore, having said, "God made man of the slime of the earth," he should not have added: "And He breathed into him the breath of life."
Obj. 4: Further, the soul, which is the breath of life, is in the whole body, and chiefly in the heart. Therefore it was not fittingly said: "He breathed into his face the breath of life."
Obj. 5: Further, the male and female sex belong to the body, while the image of God belongs to the soul. But the soul, according to Augustine (Gen. ad lit. vii, 24), was made before the body. Therefore having said: "To His image He made them," he should not have added, "male and female He created them."
_On the contrary,_ Is the authority of Scripture.
Reply Obj. 1: As Augustine observes (Gen. ad lit. vi, 12), man surpasses other things, not in the fact that God Himself made man, as though He did not make other things; since it is written (Ps. 101:26), "The work of Thy hands is the heaven," and elsewhere (Ps. 94:5), "His hands laid down the dry land"; but in this, that man is made to God's image. Yet in describing man's production, Scripture uses a special way of speaking, to show that other things were made for man's sake. For we are accustomed to do with more deliberation and care what we have chiefly in mind.
Reply Obj. 2: We must not imagine that when God said "Let us make man," He spoke to the angels, as some were perverse enough to think. But by these words is signified the plurality of the Divine Person, Whose image is more clearly expressed in man.
Reply Obj. 3: Some have thought that man's body was formed first in priority of time, and that afterwards the soul was infused into the formed body. But it is inconsistent with the perfection of the production of things, that God should have made either the body without the soul, or the soul without the body, since each is a part of human nature. This is especially unfitting as regards the body, for the body depends on the soul, and not the soul on the body.
To remove the difficulty some have said that the words, "God made man," must be understood of the production of the body with the soul; and that the subsequent words, "and He breathed into his face the breath of life," should be understood of the Holy Ghost; as the Lord breathed on His Apostles, saying, "Receive ye the Holy Ghost" (John 20:22). But this explanation, as Augustine says (De Civ. Dei xiii, 24), is excluded by the very words of Scripture. For we read farther on, "And man was made a living soul"; which words the Apostle (1 Cor. 15:45) refers not to spiritual life, but to animal life. Therefore, by breath of life we must understand the soul, so that the words, "He breathed into his face the breath of life," are a sort of exposition of what goes before; for the soul is the form of the body.
Reply Obj. 4: Since vital operations are more clearly seen in man's face, on account of the senses which are there expressed; therefore Scripture says that the breath of life was breathed into man's face.
Reply Obj. 5: According to Augustine (Gen. ad lit. iv, 34), the works of the six days were done all at one time; wherefore according to him man's soul, which he holds to have been made with the angels, was not made before the sixth day; but on the sixth day both the soul of the first man was made actually, and his body in its causal elements. But other doctors hold that on the sixth day both body and soul of man were actually made. _______________________
*H They shall perish but thou remainest: and all of them shall grow old like a garment: And as a vesture thou shalt change them, and they shall be changed.
Ver. 27. Perish. Or be changed in their qualities, (W.) as well as all other things, like a garment. This does not convey the idea of annihilation; and the Fathers are divided on this subject. 2 Pet. iii. 10. Apoc. xxi. 23. C.
*H But thou art always the selfsame, and thy years shall not fail.
Ver. 28. Fail. This regards Christ, (Heb. i.) who has established his Church, (C.) to be perpetual (W.) in this world, (H.) and triumphant in eternity, ver. 29. C. — The psalm must therefore be understood literally of Him; unless it may have two senses, which those to whom S. Paul wrote must have known, otherwise it would not prove Christ's divinity. The Socinians are greatly puzzled how to evade this argument. Bert.