*H Alleluia. WHEN Israel went out of Egypt, the house of Jacob from a barbarous people:
Ver. 1. [or 9.] Not. Some Jews here commence the 115th psalm. H. — But S. Augustin shews, that this part is well connected with the preceding, the true God being known by his works, while idols are senseless, and therefore can have no pretensions to divine worship. W. — It seems that the psalmist would not break off so abruptly, without praising God for his wondrous works, and the Fathers are silent about the present division of the Heb. (Bert.) though Eusebius and S. Athanasius had occasion to examine the text, as some Gr. copies end here, and others at v. 12, the idols, &c. — Glory. We claim no share in these miracles; or we confess our unworthiness, but do thou deliver us. C. — Thou hast done these wonders to fulfil thy gracious promises, and to prevent blasphemy. W.
* Footnote * Exodus 13 : 3
And Moses said to the people: Remember this day in which you came forth out of Egypt, and out of the house of bondage, for with a strong hand hath the Lord brought you forth out of this place: that you eat no leavened bread.*H Judea was made his sanctuary, Israel his dominion.
Ver. 2. Judea. Heb. "Juda," though the sense of the Vulg. is very good, (Bert.) as that country which had been so abandoned, became holy, when God's people dwelt there. S. Chrys. — After the departure from Egypt, the Israelites were more known as God's inheritance, over whom he reigned. W. Ex. xix. 6. — Hence He complains, when they asked for a king, (1 K. viii. 7.) though the throne is still called the Lord's. 1 Par. xxix. 23. The distinction of Juda and Israel insinuates that the kingdom had been divided. C. — But this had taken place for a time, after the death of Saul. H.
*H The sea saw and fled: Jordan was turned back.
Ver. 3. [or 11.] Heaven. Sept. add, "and on earth," which S. Augustin joins with the following words, he, &c. We cannot indeed point God out, as we might do idols. But then what sort of gods are they? C. — Viler than insects. Theod.
*H The mountains skipped like rams, and the hills like the lambs of the flock.
Ver. 4. [or 12.] Men. All Catholics agree, that idolatry is the "giving of divine honour to any creature." S. Justin, (con. Gent.) S. Aug. in the ten first books of the City of God, and other Fathers, refute all the species of idolatry. The Platonists adored the angels, or devils, intelligentias separatas. Others worshipped dead or living men renowned for their achievements, like Jupiter and Hercules; while some paid the same sovereign respect to animals, or even to inanimate things, both in themselves and in their images. The psalmist here derides the most gross species of idols, which are made by men, and are incapable of any vital action, being thus beneath the very beasts. Yet some were so absurd as to confide in them, (v. 16. W. or 8. H.) and thereby neglected the light of reason, becoming slaves of the devils, who were either the objects of adoration, as in the compacts made by sorcerers, or at least seduced mankind to pay such worship to creatures. Hence all the gods of the Gentiles are styled devils. Ps. xcv. 5. W. — How unjustly do heretics apply these words to the holy images used in the Church! though they must know (H.) that Catholics do not consider them as gods, no more than the saints and angels, whom they reverence only as the friends of God: treating their pictures with a relative honour, and endeavouring thus to excite themselves to the pursuit of virtue, by the memory of what they have done. Bert.
*H At the presence of the Lord the earth was moved, at the presence of the God of Jacob:
Ver. 7. [or 15.] Throat. Rom. and Milan Psal. add, neither is there any breath in their mouths, which occurs, (Ps. cxxxiv. 17.) instead of this sentence. H. — Juvenal (Sat. 13.) laughs at the silence of Jupiter's statue. C.
*H Who turned the rock into pools of water, and the stony hill into fountains of waters.
Ver. 8. [or 16.] Let. Zeal prompts him to make this imprecation, (C.) or prophecy. Heb. they "are or shall be." The pagans (H.) could not well find fault with this wish, (M.) as it would be a great honour to resemble real gods. Yet none of their statuaries would be willing to become such statues, or be charged with the wicked conduct of Jupiter, &c. S. Chrys. Bert. — The psalmist justly conforms his will to God's decree; and still would rejoice if he should give the idolaters grace to repent. W.
*H Not to us, O Lord, not to us; but to thy name give glory.
Ver. 9. [or 17.] The house, is not now in Heb. But it occurs in the parallel passage, (Ps. cxxxiv.) where the imperative is used, as the Heb. is here pointed. C. — "Israel trusts...house of Aaron, trust ye in the Lord," (Mont.) which is much in favour of this text, though S. Jerom, &c. agree with the Sept. C. — Houbigant rejects the Heb. reading, and the house of Israel occurs, v. 12. Bert. — All the people, the priests, and converts from paganism, are invited to praise the Lord. S. Chrys. Acts ii. 5. and x. 2. and xiii. 16. C. — The Church always comprised two distinct orders, the clergy and the laity. M.
*H The idols of the Gentiles are silver and gold, the works of the hands of men.
Ver. 12. [or 20.] Hath. Heb. "will be," which seems better. Let him bless us. C. — Both versions are true. Bert. Eph. i. 3.
*H Let them that make them become like unto them: and all such as trust in them.
Ver. 16. [or 24.] Of heaven. Or the highest heaven, in which God displays his glory, though he fill every place. H. — His benefits to man claim a return of gratitude, and we are not dispensed from shewing our adoration, as deists would hence unreasonably infer. Bert. — Worldly men say this in their hearts, abandoning their pretensions to heaven. W.
*H The house of Israel hath hoped in the Lord: he is their helper and their protector.
Ver. 17. [or 25.] The dead. People who are thus affected, give no praise to God, when they die, but descend into hell. W. — Criminals are therefore said to be dead, while the saints only sleep. S. Chrys. — Hell. Heb. "silence," or the tomb, (Bert.) where none can sound forth God's praises, (H.) though the soul in a state of separation may adore him. Bert. See Ps. vi. 6. and xxix. 10.
*H The house of Aaron hath hoped in the Lord: he is their helper and their protector.
Ver. 18. [or 26.] Live. In the state of justice, and aspiring to God's kingdom. While we use this world only as the means to ascend thither, we shall praise him for evermore. W.