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*H The prayer of David. Hear, O Lord, my justice: attend to my supplication. Give ear unto my prayer, which proceedeth not from deceitful lips.
Ver. 1. Prayer. This psalm contains the model of a fervent prayer, (H.) which may be used by any person under affliction. W. — The Rabbins say David expresses too much confidence in his own integrity, and therefore was soon after permitted to fall; while others assert that he spoke thus after the murder of Urias, to avert God's wrath from his army before Rabbath. But this supposition is improbable, (C.) as well as the other. H. — The Fathers think that this ps. was composed during the persecution of Saul, and that it contains the sentiments of Jesus Christ and of his Church, under the persecution of infidels. There are some very difficult passages in it. C. — My justice. Heb. "attend to justice," (H.) which amounts to the same thing; as no one would make this petition, unless he supposed that he was in the right. "Here the justice of my cause." Principes. Bert. — "Hear the just man." S. Jer. H. — Lips. I do not attempt to deceive thee, like the hypocrite; or rather I have not acted with deceit, or endeavoured to excite rebellion, as I have been accused. C. — In my just cause, hear my unfeigned petition. W.
*H Let my judgment come forth from thy countenance: let thy eyes behold the things that are equitable.
Ver. 2. Countenance. Pronounce sentence, (Est. i. 19. C.) if I have done wrong. I do not refuse punishment. Ps. vii. 5. H. — The Gr. and Lat. copies vary. Some read correctly with the Heb. "Let thy eyes behold what is wrong." Yet S. Jer. (ep. ad Sun.) has "right," with the Syr. &c. Others more commonly read, "Let mine eyes behold justice." C. — Montanus, however, substitutes rectitudines for iniquitates, as Pagnin had rendered mesharim, and Prot. "the things that are equal." H. — "Holy preachers are the eyes of Christ...let them see what is just...and fulfil the justice which they preach." S. Jer. — God sees all things, and will pass a just sentence. W.
*H Thou hast proved my heart, and visited it by night, thou hast tried me by fire: and iniquity hath not been found in me.
Ver. 3. Fire. I have experienced all sorts of misery. C. — Iniquity. Heb. "Thou hast not found; I have thought." But the same word without points, zamothi, (H.) has the sense given by the Sept. and they knew nothing of these points. Bert. — We may also translate, "Thou hast not found in me any criminal thoughts. My mouth has not transgressed thy orders." If some thoughts of taking revenge by killing Saul, presented themselves involuntarily, David repressed them; (C.) and when he was alone with him at night in a cave, he would not suffer him to be hurt, 1 K. xxvi. 7. Theod. — He asserts that he had gone through tribulations without offending. Those who are innocent or penitent, may pray with this confidence; as the Church may, which has always some saints, on which account she is styled holy. W.
*H That my mouth may not speak the works of men: for the sake of the words of thy lips, I have kept hard ways.
Ver. 4. Men. Houb. "My mouth shall not pass to the pretexts of Adam." I will not seek for excuses in sin. H. — "My mouth utters not vows to the vain works of men." Prin. disc. — But these versions are singular. Bert. — Hard. Heb. "way of the robber." Purits, or prits, (S. Jer. H.) means also "fracture." Bert. — David was ordered by God to retire into the wilderness, and to caves, where he was obliged to live like robbers, (C.) and was even branded (C.) with the title of a fugitive slave by Nabal, 1 K. xxv. 10. H. — Yet the actions of David were very different from theirs. Bert. — He did not speak about the works of men, in power to condemn Saul, or any other, being averse to all detraction, and prescribing to himself the strictest laws, (C.) which God had ever promulgated. Prot. "I have purposed that my mouth shall not transgress. (4) Concerning the works of men, by the word of thy lips, I have kept me from the paths of the destroyer." The division of the verses is arbitrary. H. — David kept the narrow path of virtue. W.
*H Perfect thou my goings in thy paths: that my footsteps be not moved.
Ver. 5. Perfect. Heb. "support" me in these hard ways, where I am in continual danger of falling. C. — A Deo est incipere, a Deo est finire. S. Jer. — God's grace enables us to begin and to perfect every good work. H. — None can walk right of themselves. W.
*H I have cried to thee, for thou, O God, hast heard me: O incline thy ear unto me, and hear my words.
Ver. 6. Heard me, of former occasions. This encourages me to pray with more confidence (Bert.) and fervour. Bona vota quoties effectum percipiunt, multiplicantur. S. Greg. Mor. xxxv. 3. — Heb. also, "thou wilt hear me favourably." S. Jer. H.
*H Shew forth thy wonderful mercies; thou who savest them that trust in thee.
Ver. 7. Mercies. We become accustomed to the ordinary effects of grace, which are always admirable; and we are astonished only at miraculous conversions and occurrences. Orig. — Some such manifestation of the divine power seemed now requisite, to deliver David from such a powerful rival as Saul. C. — Syr. "Lord, make thy holy one appear as a prodigy, as the Saviour of those who hope in thee." S. Jer. — "O thou Saviour of those who hope." H.
*H From them that resist thy right hand keep me, as the apple of thy eye. Protect me under the shadow of thy wings.
Ver. 8. Eye. God has shewn particular attention to protect the apple of the eye. He watches still more over his servants, (Zac. ii. 8.) for whom all things procure good. Rom. viii. 28. Saul had declared himself against David, because he had been chosen to succeed him, and thus he opposed the designs of God. C. — The prophet prays that he may never give way to such impiety. W. — Wings, as a hen does her chickens. H. — Defend me from the furious countenance of my enemies. W.
*H They have shut up their fat: their mouth hath spoken proudly.
Ver. 10. Their fat. That is, their bowels of compassion: for they have none for me. Ch. — They have become fat, and have given way to greater insolence, as we see too often verified. Deut. xxxii. 15. Job xv. 26. Ps. lxxii. 7. Chal. C. — Proudly. Libertines are often prompted by vanity to speak as they do against God and man. H. — If Collins, Tindal, &c. had been cast upon some desert island, they would probably never have written such irreligious works as there would have been none to applaud them. Bert.
* Summa
*S Part 3, Ques 89, Article 1
[II-II, Q. 89, Art. 1]
Whether to Swear Is to Call God to Witness?
Objection 1: It would seem that to swear is not to call God to witness. Whoever invokes the authority of Holy Writ calls God to witness, since it is His word that Holy Writ contains. Therefore, if to swear is to call God to witness, whoever invoked the authority of Holy Writ would swear. But this is false. Therefore the antecedent is false also.
Obj. 2: Further, one does not pay anything to a person by calling him to witness. But he who swears by God pays something to Him for it is written (Matt. 5:33): "Thou shall pay [Douay: 'perform'] thy oaths to the Lord"; and Augustine says [*Serm. clxxx] that to swear (_jurare_) is "to pay the right (_jus reddere_) of truth to God." Therefore to swear is not to call God to witness.
Obj. 3: Further, the duties of a judge differ from the duties of a witness, as shown above (QQ. 67, 70). Now sometimes a man, by swearing, implores the Divine judgment, according to Ps. 7:5, "If I have rendered to them that repaid me evils, let me deservedly fall empty before my enemies." Therefore to swear is not to call God to witness.
_On the contrary,_ Augustine says in a sermon on perjury (Serm. clxxx): "When a man says: 'By God,' what else does he mean but that God is his witness?"
_I answer that,_ As the Apostle says (Heb. 6:16), oaths are taken for the purpose of confirmation. Now speculative propositions receive confirmation from reason, which proceeds from principles known naturally and infallibly true. But particular contingent facts regarding man cannot be confirmed by a necessary reason, wherefore propositions regarding such things are wont to be confirmed by witnesses. Now a human witness does not suffice to confirm such matters for two reasons. First, on account of man's lack of truth, for many give way to lying, according to Ps. 16:10, "Their mouth hath spoken lies [Vulg.: 'proudly']." Secondly, on account of [his] lack of knowledge, since he can know neither the future, nor secret thoughts, nor distant things: and yet men speak about such things, and our everyday life requires that we should have some certitude about them. Hence the need to have recourse to a Divine witness, for neither can God lie, nor is anything hidden from Him. Now to call God to witness is named _jurare_ (to swear) because it is established as though it were a principle of law (_jure_) that what a man asserts under the invocation of God as His witness should be accepted as true. Now sometimes God is called to witness when we assert present or past events, and this is termed a "declaratory oath"; while sometimes God is called to witness in confirmation of something future, and this is termed a "promissory oath." But oaths are not employed in order to substantiate necessary matters, and such as come under the investigation of reason; for it would seem absurd in a scientific discussion to wish to prove one's point by an oath.
Reply Obj. 1: It is one thing to employ a Divine witness already given, as when one adduces the authority of Holy Scripture; and another to implore God to bear witness, as in an oath.
Reply Obj. 2: A man is said to pay his oaths to God because he performs what he swears to do, or because, from the very fact that he calls upon God to witness, he recognizes Him as possessing universal knowledge and unerring truth.
Reply Obj. 3: A person is called to give witness, in order that he may make known the truth about what is alleged. Now there are two ways in which God makes known whether the alleged facts are true or not. In one way He reveals the truth simply, either by inward inspiration, or by unveiling the facts, namely, by making public what was hitherto secret: in another way by punishing the lying witness, and then He is at once judge and witness, since by punishing the liar He makes known his lie. Hence oaths are of two kinds: one is a simple contestation of God, as when a man says "God is my witness," or, "I speak before God," or, "By God," which has the same meaning, as Augustine states [*See argument On the contrary]; the other is by cursing, and consists in a man binding himself or something of his to punishment if what is alleged be not true. _______________________
SECOND
*H They have cast me forth, and now they have surrounded me: they have set their eyes bowing down to the earth.
Ver. 11. Earth, to testify their wrath. So Virgil describes Juno.
*H They have taken me, as a lion prepared for the prey; and as a young lion dwelling in secret places.
Ver. 12. They have taken me, is not expressed in Heb. H.
*H Arise, O Lord, disappoint him and supplant him; deliver my soul from the wicked one; thy sword
Ver. 13. Disappoint. Heb. "meet him," as an enemy. Lev. xxvi. 23. — Thy sword. The wicked are employed by God to chastise the just, and will then be thrown into the fire. Isai. x. 5. Jer. l. 23. C. — They little think that they are subservient to the designs of Providence, as they attribute their success to their own might. Whether we beg that God would take his sword from the wicked, or that we may be freed from their malice, is much the same. Bert. — Heb. may express the latter sentiment, "Deliver my soul from the wicked, thy sword, (14) the men of thy hand, worldings, whose portion is temporal, in this life," &c. H. — Many other versions may be given: (C.) by they all tend to shew the fleeting pleasures of God's enemies, who are thus rewarded for their transient virtues, and reserved for eternal torments. H. — Man is not sufficient to resist that power, which they exercise by God's permission. Hence David begs that it may be taken away. W.
*H From the enemies of thy hand. O Lord, divide them from the few of the earth in their life: their belly is filled from thy hidden stores. They are full of children: and they have left to their little ones the rest of their substance.
Ver. 14. Divide them from the few, &c. That is, cut them off from the earth, and the few trifling things thereof; which they are so proud of, or, divide them from the few; that is, from thy elect, who are but few; that they may no longer have it in their power to oppress them. It is not meant by way of a curse or imprecation; but, as many other similar passages in the psalms, by way of a prediction, or prophecy of what should come upon them, in punishment of their wickedness. — Thy hidden stores: thy secret treasures, out of which thou furnishest those earthly goods, which with a bountiful hand thou hast distributed both to the good and the bad. Ch. — Of children. Heb. "their children are satiated." Houb. Bert. — Some copies read υειων, (Rom. Sept.) instead of υιων. "They have been filled with hogs' flesh." The mistake was easy in Greek. C. S. Jerom agrees with the Vulg. H. — A numerous family was the great desire of the Jews. David is willing to forego every temporal advantage, and only prays that he may live in his own country, and attend the divine worship in the tabernacle. This was the glory of Israel, v. 15. 1 K. iv. 21. C. — He predicts the final separation of the wicked from the elect, which sometimes begins in this life. Their worldly joys are hidden or disapproved by God. W. — They feed on the poor servants of our Lord, (H.) whose life is hidden. M.
*H But as for me, I will appear before thy sight in justice: I shall be satisfied when thy glory shall appear.
Ver. 15. Appear. S. Jer. "I shall be filled, when I shall awake in thy likeness," (H.) at the resurrection: (Phil. iii. 21. and 1 Cor. xiii. 12.) or "when thy likeness, the Messias, shall rise again:" or (as the same expression is used by the Sept. as Num. xii. 8.) David begs for actual inspiration, "thou wilt comfort my with the prophetic spirit." C. — Perhaps he might also desire to see the tabernacle again, or even now prepare to erect a temple unto the Lord; (2 K. vii. 2. H.) or he begs for the gifts of grace and glory, which will restore the image of God, effaced by sin. 1 Jo. iii. 2. Bert. — Then the just being approved, will taste that joy which alone can satiate the heart of man, when he shall behold God. W.
* Summa
*S Part 2, Ques 5, Article 4
[I-II, Q. 5, Art. 4]
Whether Happiness Once Had Can Be Lost?
Objection 1: It would seem that Happiness can be lost. For Happiness is a perfection. But every perfection is in the thing perfected according to the mode of the latter. Since then man is, by his nature, changeable, it seems that Happiness is participated by man in a changeable manner. And consequently it seems that man can lose Happiness.
Obj. 2: Further, Happiness consists in an act of the intellect; and the intellect is subject to the will. But the will can be directed to opposites. Therefore it seems that it can desist from the operation whereby man is made happy: and thus man will cease to be happy.
Obj. 3: Further, the end corresponds to the beginning. But man's Happiness has a beginning, since man was not always happy. Therefore it seems that it has an end.
_On the contrary,_ It is written (Matt. 25:46) of the righteous that "they shall go . . . into life everlasting," which, as above stated (A. 2), is the Happiness of the saints. Now what is eternal ceases not. Therefore Happiness cannot be lost.
_I answer that,_ If we speak of imperfect happiness, such as can be had in this life, in this sense it can be lost. This is clear of contemplative happiness, which is lost either by forgetfulness, for instance, when knowledge is lost through sickness; or again by certain occupations, whereby a man is altogether withdrawn from contemplation.
This is also clear of active happiness: since man's will can be changed so as to fall to vice from the virtue, in whose act that happiness principally consists. If, however, the virtue remain unimpaired, outward changes can indeed disturb such like happiness, in so far as they hinder many acts of virtue; but they cannot take it away altogether because there still remains an act of virtue, whereby man bears these trials in a praiseworthy manner. And since the happiness of this life can be lost, a circumstance that appears to be contrary to the nature of happiness, therefore did the Philosopher state (Ethic. i, 10) that some are happy in this life, not simply, but "as men," whose nature is subject to change.
But if we speak of that perfect Happiness which we await after this life, it must be observed that Origen (Peri Archon. ii, 3), following the error of certain Platonists, held that man can become unhappy after the final Happiness.
This, however, is evidently false, for two reasons. First, from the general notion of happiness. For since happiness is the "perfect and sufficient good," it must needs set man's desire at rest and exclude every evil. Now man naturally desires to hold to the good that he has, and to have the surety of his holding: else he must of necessity be troubled with the fear of losing it, or with the sorrow of knowing that he will lose it. Therefore it is necessary for true Happiness that man have the assured opinion of never losing the good that he possesses. If this opinion be true, it follows that he never will lose happiness: but if it be false, it is in itself an evil that he should have a false opinion: because the false is the evil of the intellect, just as the true is its good, as stated in _Ethic._ vi, 2. Consequently he will no longer be truly happy, if evil be in him.
Secondly, it is again evident if we consider the specific nature of Happiness. For it has been shown above (Q. 3, A. 8) that man's perfect Happiness consists in the vision of the Divine Essence. Now it is impossible for anyone seeing the Divine Essence, to wish not to see It. Because every good that one possesses and yet wishes to be without, is either insufficient, something more sufficing being desired in its stead; or else has some inconvenience attached to it, by reason of which it becomes wearisome. But the vision of the Divine Essence fills the soul with all good things, since it unites it to the source of all goodness; hence it is written (Ps. 16:15): "I shall be satisfied when Thy glory shall appear"; and (Wis. 7:11): "All good things came to me together with her," i.e. with the contemplation of wisdom. In like manner neither has it any inconvenience attached to it; because it is written of the contemplation of wisdom (Wis. 8:16): "Her conversation hath no bitterness, nor her company any tediousness." It is thus evident that the happy man cannot forsake Happiness of his own accord. Moreover, neither can he lose Happiness, through God taking it away from him. Because, since the withdrawal of Happiness is a punishment, it cannot be enforced by God, the just Judge, except for some fault; and he that sees God cannot fall into a fault, since rectitude of the will, of necessity, results from that vision as was shown above (Q. 4, A. 4). Nor again can it be withdrawn by any other agent. Because the mind that is united to God is raised above all other things: and consequently no other agent can sever the mind from that union. Therefore it seems unreasonable that as time goes on, man should pass from happiness to misery, and vice versa; because such like vicissitudes of time can only be for such things as are subject to time and movement.
Reply Obj. 1: Happiness is consummate perfection, which excludes every defect from the happy. And therefore whoever has happiness has it altogether unchangeably: this is done by the Divine power, which raises man to the participation of eternity which transcends all change.
Reply Obj. 2: The will can be directed to opposites, in things which are ordained to the end; but it is ordained, of natural necessity, to the last end. This is evident from the fact that man is unable not to wish to be happy.
Reply Obj. 3: Happiness has a beginning owing to the condition of the participator: but it has no end by reason of the condition of the good, the participation of which makes man happy. Hence the beginning of happiness is from one cause, its endlessness is from another. ________________________
FIFTH
*S Part 2, Ques 69, Article 2
[I-II, Q. 69, Art. 2]
Whether the Rewards Assigned to the Beatitudes Refer to This Life?
Objection 1: It would seem that the rewards assigned to the beatitudes do not refer to this life. Because some are said to be happy because they hope for a reward, as stated above (A. 1). Now the object of hope is future happiness. Therefore these rewards refer to the life to come.
Obj. 2: Further, certain punishments are set down in opposition to the beatitudes, Luke 6:25, where we read: "Woe to you that are filled; for you shall hunger. Woe to you that now laugh, for you shall mourn and weep." Now these punishments do not refer to this life, because frequently men are not punished in this life, according to Job 21:13: "They spend their days in wealth." Therefore neither do the rewards of the beatitudes refer to this life.
Obj. 3: Further, the kingdom of heaven which is set down as the reward of poverty is the happiness of heaven, as Augustine says (De Civ. Dei xix) [*Cf. De Serm. Dom. in Monte i, 1]. Again, abundant fullness is not to be had save in the life to come, according to Ps. 16:15: "I shall be filled [Douay: 'satisfied'] when Thy glory shall appear." Again, it is only in the future life that we shall see God, and that our Divine sonship will be made manifest, according to 1 John 3:2: "We are now the sons of God; and it hath not yet appeared what we shall be. We know that, when He shall appear, we shall be like to Him, because we shall see Him as He is." Therefore these rewards refer to the future life.
_On the contrary,_ Augustine says (De Serm. Dom. in Monte i, 4): "These promises can be fulfilled in this life, as we believe them to have been fulfilled in the apostles. For no words can express that complete change into the likeness even of an angel, which is promised to us after this life."
_I answer that,_ Expounders of Holy Writ are not agreed in speaking of these rewards. For some, with Ambrose (Super Luc. v), hold that all these rewards refer to the life to come; while Augustine (De Serm. Dom. in Monte i, 4) holds them to refer to the present life; and Chrysostom in his homilies (In Matth. xv) says that some refer to the future, and some to the present life.
In order to make the matter clear we must take note that hope of future happiness may be in us for two reasons. First, by reason of our having a preparation for, or a disposition to future happiness; and this is by way of merit; secondly, by a kind of imperfect inchoation of future happiness in holy men, even in this life. For it is one thing to hope that the tree will bear fruit, when the leaves begin to appear, and another, when we see the first signs of the fruit.
Accordingly, those things which are set down as merits in the beatitudes, are a kind of preparation for, or disposition to happiness, either perfect or inchoate: while those that are assigned as rewards, may be either perfect happiness, so as to refer to the future life, or some beginning of happiness, such as is found in those who have attained perfection, in which case they refer to the present life. Because when a man begins to make progress in the acts of the virtues and gifts, it is to be hoped that he will arrive at perfection, both as a wayfarer, and as a citizen of the heavenly kingdom.
Reply Obj. 1: Hope regards future happiness as the last end: yet it may also regard the assistance of grace as that which leads to that end, according to Ps. 27:7: "In Him hath my heart hoped, and I have been helped."
Reply Obj. 2: Although sometimes the wicked do not undergo temporal punishment in this life, yet they suffer spiritual punishment. Hence Augustine says (Confess. i): "Thou hast decreed, and it is so, Lord--that the disordered mind should be its own punishment." The Philosopher, too, says of the wicked (Ethic. ix, 4) that "their soul is divided against itself . . . one part pulls this way, another that"; and afterwards he concludes, saying: "If wickedness makes a man so miserable, he should strain every nerve to avoid vice." In like manner, although, on the other hand, the good sometimes do not receive material rewards in this life, yet they never lack spiritual rewards, even in this life, according to Matt. 19:29, and Mk. 10:30: "Ye shall receive a hundred times as much" even "in this time."
Reply Obj. 3: All these rewards will be fully consummated in the life to come: but meanwhile they are, in a manner, begun, even in this life. Because the "kingdom of heaven," as Augustine says (loc. cit.), can denote the beginning of perfect wisdom, in so far as "the spirit" begins to reign in men. The "possession" of the land denotes the well-ordered affections of the soul that rests, by its desire, on the solid foundation of the eternal inheritance, signified by "the land." They are "comforted" in this life, by receiving the Holy Ghost, Who is called the "Paraclete," i.e. the Comforter. They "have their fill," even in this life, of that food of which Our Lord said (John 4:34): "My meat is to do the will of Him that sent Me." Again, in this life, men "obtain" God's "Mercy." Again, the eye being cleansed by the gift of understanding, we can, so to speak, "see God." Likewise, in this life, those who are the "peacemakers" of their own movements, approach to likeness to God, and are called "the children of God." Nevertheless these things will be more perfectly fulfilled in heaven. ________________________
THIRD