And he brought me forth into a large place: he saved me, because he was well pleased with me.

“"And the Lord shall reward Me according to My righteousness" [Psalm 18:20]. And the Lord shall reward Me according to the righteousness of My good will, who first showed mercy, before that I had the good will. "And according to the cleanness of My hands He will recompense Me." And according to the cleanness of My deeds He will recompense Me, who has given Me to do well by bringing Me forth into the broad place of faith.”

“In the preceding Psalm the Psalmist asked in prayer to be freed from his enemies; here, however, having been freed, he gives thanks. And first he gives thanks for the benefit of his liberation. Second, he bursts forth into praise of his liberator, at the verse "The heavens declare the glory of God." The title: "Unto the end, for the servant of the Lord, David, And he spoke the words of this canticle, in the day wherein the Lord delivered him from the hand of his enemies, and from the hand of Saul." And this psalm is found word for word in 2 Kings 22. And the history is this: 1 Kings 19 recounts how Saul sought to kill him, and after Saul's death, in 2 Kings 2, Abner and his son in turn opposed him. At length David had the victory over them, and therefore made this psalm. And Jerome says the same. And since Christ is signified through David, all these things can be referred to Christ, either according to the Head or according to the Body, that is, the Church, since it was freed from Saul, that is, from death: for Saul is interpreted as "petition," because he was given at the petition of the people, or rather was extorted from God; hence he was not given to last. So Christ first endures death, and afterward remains at rest, according to the Gloss. He is also freed from all enemies, from the Jews and from demons, and this as regards his Body, that is, the Church. This part is divided into three. In the first, he recalls in general the benefit of liberation. In the second, he shows the power of the one who liberates, at "the earth was moved." In the third, the manner of the liberation, at "he sent from on high," etc. As to the first, he does two things. First he recalls the affection he conceived from the aforesaid benefit. Second he shows the effect that followed from it, at "praising." A twofold affection arose in him from this benefit, namely of love and of hope. First he sets down the first; second, the second, at "my God." First he sets down the affection of love toward God; second, its reason, at "strength." He says therefore: O Lord who has freed me, I will always love you, for in you I will abide: John 15, "Abide in love"; Romans 8, "I am sure that neither life nor death, nor angels, nor any other creature shall be able to separate us from the charity of Christ." For to love (diligere) belongs to rational beings, while "to love" (amare) in general belongs to all. Judges 5: "They that love you, as the sun in his rising shineth, so they shine." Now the reason for loving someone is on account of one's own good. Hence when someone reckons his good to depend on another, this is the reason why he loves him. David reckoned all his good to be from God; hence he says, "I will love you," because "you are my strength." Strength has the office of steadying the mind, lest one recede from the good on account of threatening difficulties. He shows in what way God is his strength. Man needs strength for two things. First in goods, that he may be established in them; and so he says, "the Lord is my firmament," that is, my firm foundation: 2 Kings 22, "the Lord is my rock"; Matthew 7, "everyone who hears my words and does them is like a man building his house upon a rock." Likewise in evils, and this in two ways: in one way, before they come, so that he may flee them; hence he says, "my refuge": Proverbs 14, "the name of the Lord is a most strong tower"; Psalm 103, "the rock is a refuge for the irchins." In the other way, after they have happened, that he may be delivered; hence he says, "and my deliverer." "My God." Here he sets down the affection of hope; and there is a difference between hope and love, because love is a unitive force — for we love a thing insofar as we reckon it our own; and therefore he says that God himself is his strength: Isaiah 12, "The Lord is my strength and my praise, and he is become my salvation." Hope implies a defense against something extrinsic; and God does both. Or thus: the object of hope is an arduous future good, possible to attain. Just as, then, one loves on account of a good already given, so one hopes for a future good out of the confidence conceived from love, and from like things, insofar as one believes he will receive like things in the future. And so here he does three things. First he hopes for refuge and firmness, which pertains to goods. Second he seeks protection, which pertains to evils that have already occurred. He says therefore, first, "my God, my helper": Psalm 95, "unless the Lord had helped me, my soul had almost dwelt in hell," etc. And therefore I will hope in him: Ecclesiasticus 2, "You that fear the Lord, hope in him, and mercy shall come to you for your delight." Second, we hope to be freed from evils to which we are not yet subject, because he defends us: first, that we not be harmed; second, that we may conquer them, and he crowns us for victory. As to the first he says, "my protector." Jerome has "my shield," which protects lest one be pierced through by evils; thus God acts: Psalm 63, "You have protected me, O God, from the assembly of the malignant." As to the second he says, "and the horn of my salvation," because animals butt with the horn; so the power of God resists against adversaries, for it fights so as to conquer temporal and spiritual evils: Psalm 43, "Through you we will push down our enemies with the horn, and through your name we will despise them that rise up against us"; 1 Kings 2, "My heart has rejoiced in the Lord, and my horn is exalted in my God," that is, my power. As to the third, "and my supporter." When someone conquers, he is received with triumph; so also God does: John 14, "I will come again and take you to myself, that where I am, you also may be"; Psalm 72, "You have received me with glory." The like is found in 2 Kings 22. Next he sets down the effect that follows, namely praise. Praise is speech that manifests the greatness of power, or at least follows from it. First therefore he sets down the praise; second, its efficacy. He says therefore, "Praising, I will call upon the Lord," as if to say: hence I have no praise of my own, but I seek yours, because you have done it; Isaiah 63, "I will remember the mercies of the Lord: the praise of the Lord for all the things that he has bestowed upon me." "And I will call upon you" securely and with efficacy, because calling upon him thus, "I shall be saved from my enemies": Joel, last chapter, "Whosoever shall call upon the name of the Lord shall be saved." "They surrounded me." Here is set down the necessity of the liberation. And first he shows the greatness of the liberation; second, the prayer he poured out to God, at "in my tribulation"; third, he sets down the hearing of it, "he heard." Note that these three things are so ordered to one another — iniquity, death, and hell — that from iniquity man is led into death, and through death is brought down into hell; and as the first is the way to the second, so the second is the way to the third. And therefore he first speaks of the first progress; second, of the second, namely that from death they go into hell, at "the sorrows of hell." As to the first he does two things: first he sets down the manner, second the way to it, namely iniquity, "the torrents of iniquity." The sorrow of death is the greatest: 1 Kings 15, "Does bitter death separate thus?" Ecclesiasticus 41, "O death, how bitter is the remembrance of you." Hence when someone cannot escape it, then sorrows surround him, and all the more the more they are inescapable. The way is iniquity, as if to say: therefore I fear it, because "the torrents of iniquity have troubled me." A torrent is a flow of water running with force: Job 6, "as a torrent which passes swiftly in the valleys." The sudden force, then, of interior iniquity — say of sudden and grave temptation — is a torrent driving one to sin. Or it may be exterior, like the onrush of some enemy. And these, "have troubled me." "The sorrows." Here he pursues the second progress; and therefore he says, "the sorrows of hell," that is, similar to those of hell: Genesis 57, "mourning I will go down into hell." Or sorrows that are conceived from the fear of hell. And these surround when they are inescapable. And these sorrows come, because "the snares of death have prevented me." What death? Proverbs 21, "He that gathers up treasures by a lying tongue is vain and foolish, and shall stumble upon the snares of death." Behold the necessity. But he has applied the remedy of prayer. And first the prayer is set down; and therefore he says, "in my tribulation I called upon the Lord." Hosea 6, "in their affliction they will rise early to me"; Baruch 3, "now, O Lord God," etc.; Isaiah 55, "Seek the Lord while he may be found," etc.; Psalm 49, "Call upon me in the day of trouble, and I will deliver you"; Wisdom 7, "I called upon him, and the spirit of wisdom came upon me." Next is set down the devotion of the one praying, because "I cried to my God," that is, with greatness of devotion in praying: Psalm 119, "when I was in trouble, I cried to the Lord"; Hebrews 5, "with a strong cry and tears, offering, was heard." And he says "I cried to my God," not to a stranger: Deuteronomy 10, "you shall adore the Lord your God," etc. Third, the hearing is set down, "he heard." He had said two things: that he had called upon and that he had cried. And so he says that the voice and the cry were heard. Whence? "He heard my voice from his holy temple." The temple of God is the very excellence of his sanctity, because the Lord is his own temple: Revelation 21, "I saw no temple therein: for the Lord God Almighty is the temple thereof," etc. Likewise Christ himself is the temple: John 2, "But he spoke this of the temple of his body," in which God is present through the union of person. Likewise the just soul, in which God is present through grace: 1 Corinthians 3, "for the temple of God is holy, which you are." Likewise the Blessed Virgin: Psalm 5, "I will worship toward your holy temple" — in whom, that is, through whom, God heard us: Psalm 33, "he heard me, and delivered me from all my troubles." Likewise the Church: Psalm 10, "the Lord is in his temple." And from any such temple he heard: 3 Kings 18, "if any man shall know the plague of his own heart, and shall spread forth his hands in this house, you will hear in the place of your dwelling." And he says not only that the prayer was heard, but also the cry; therefore he says, "and my cry before him came into his ears." And he says "before him," that is, in his eyes, because he sees all things: Exodus 3, "Seeing I have seen the affliction," etc. Or "before him," that is, in his good pleasure; or in the heart, where he alone beholds: 1 Kings 16, "man sees those things that appear, but God beholds the heart." And it "came into his ears" by acceptance: James 5, "their cry has entered into the ears of the Lord." Or "into his ears," that is, into his clemency: Ecclesiasticus 15, "the prayer of him that humbles himself pierces the clouds." "The earth was moved." Above the Psalmist treated of the affection conceived from the benefits of liberation; here he treats of the power of the one who liberates. The power of an agent is shown from the agent's effect; and the things said here can pertain to a twofold effect of God: namely to that which is shown in bodily things, and to the effect of redemption. And perhaps more truly to both, since the things said here under the figure of bodily things are spiritually fulfilled through the effect of redemption. Now the effect of divine power is manifested most of all in bodily things, since spiritual things are less known to us; and especially in those things which men admire; and these are the disturbances of the elements, namely of earth, air, water, and fire. This part is therefore divided into three. First he shows the power of God in the effects that concern the earth. Second, in the changes of the air. Third, in the changes of the waters. The second begins at "he bowed the heavens"; the third at "the fountains of waters appeared." But if it is referred to the mystery, it is divided into two. First he shows the fruit of the divine redemption wrought through Christ; second, its manner, at "he bowed the heavens." The first is divided into two. As referred to the first, he treats first of the effect of the earth, which is from below; second, of that which ascends from above. If understood mystically, thus is shown the twofold effect of redemption: namely the penitence of sinners, and the devotion of the just, at "there went up." But according as it is referred to the bodily effect, which is from the depth of the earth, the most wonderful effect is an earthquake, etc. Here he touches on three things: first, the disturbance itself; second, that which renders it wonderful; third, its cause. He says therefore, "the earth shook and trembled." A thing is moved in two ways: in one way, it is moved from place to place, and in this way the earth is not moved. In the other way, after the manner of trembling; and in this way the shaking of the mountains makes the earthquake wonderful — for if soft earth were moved, it would not be wonderful, but when mountains are moved, then it is wonderful; and therefore he says, "were troubled," because they seem to have lost their stability. The first cause is the divine will, and he expresses this metaphorically when he says, "because he was angry with them," namely God. Just as when a lord is angered, those who attend him tremble, so at the disturbance of God all things are disturbed. Mystically this designates the movement of men to penitence. Likewise among them some are lesser, and these are designated by the earth; hence he says, "the earth shook and trembled," that is, those who were formerly sinners and earthly: Isaiah 51, "you have made your heart as the earth, and as a way for them that pass by." This was moved in affection from earthly things to heavenly, and this from the trembling it conceived from the punishments: Isaiah 26, "from fear of you, O Lord, we have conceived, and as it were brought forth, and have given birth to the spirit of salvation." Some are great, and these are called mountains, that is, those who are proud in the world. "They were moved" at the coming of Christ. The foundations of mountains are those things on which they are made firm, namely riches, powers, and honors: Psalm 45, "the mountains are removed into the heart of the sea," namely they are disturbed when adversities come, and afterward they are wholly moved: Isaiah 23, "the Lord of hosts has designed it, to pull down the pride of all glory, and to bring to disgrace all the glorious ones of the earth." All kingdoms and powers that have a beginning will have an ending; the reason is, "because he was angry with them." This can be understood in two ways. If it is spoken of the wicked, there is no doubt they are removed by the vengeance of God, which is called wrath; if of the good, that is, because the wrath of God has become known to them, therefore they are converted. For it becomes known through this: Romans 1, "the wrath of God is revealed from heaven upon all the ungodliness and injustice of those men who detain the truth of God in injustice." "There went up." Here he sets forth, expounding it corporeally, the effect that is from above. Now the effect of the earth from above occurs when the earth in some part of itself is burned by heavenly fire; and concerning this he does two things: first he touches on the matter itself; second, the kindling and burning of the fire. Its matter is dry smoke, released and ascending until it is set aflame; and therefore he says, "there went up a smoke in his wrath," that is, in his will, that is, of God, by which he thus punishes. "At his presence," that is, at his power, "a fire flamed," that is, was kindled; and "coals," that is, combustible matter, are here set afire. Mystically two things are hinted at by this: namely, devotion in prayer, and the enkindling of charity. "There went up": and from this the wrath of God against sinners is considered. "There went up smoke," of devout prayer: Revelation 8, "there went up the smoke of aromatic spices," that is, the fire of charity: "at his presence," that is, of Christ, "it flamed": Luke 12, "I have come to cast fire on the earth." "Coals were kindled by it," namely, those who are receptive of enkindling. A coal once had fire; so man from the beginning had charity, but it had been extinguished; but these were set aflame by Christ. Likewise coals that are not damp are kindled thus, but damp ones are not — like those damp with the flux of carnal things: Psalm 119 (120), "sharp arrows of the mighty, with coals," etc. "The earth shook and trembled; the foundations of the mountains were troubled and were moved, because he was angry with them." God is said to be angry because he behaves after the manner of one who is angry — not in himself, but as regards the effect: for an angry lord makes his servant tremble, and a lion its cub. Concerning this it should be known that the power which sustains the members withdraws exteriorly and returns interiorly, as it were fleeing to the heart, and yielding to the imagined evil; or to a power rising against it which it cannot resist, and the members tremble, as a wall does when its foundation is shaken. For the soul contains the body and is as it were its foundation; and a part of the soul contains a part of the body. Hence when the foundation is shaken the wall is shaken, and when the power is shaken the member is shaken. So then the effect of anger in an animal is trembling. Now an animal is said to tremble when a part of it is shaken while the whole remains in the same place; and likewise, because this happens in an earthquake, the earth is said to tremble by likeness to animals. For God is said to be angry with the earth in an earthquake. Or thus: in man there are four things — reason, the sensitive powers, nature, and the corporeal thing itself. But in the world there are God, angels, animals, plants, and elements. For we see that at an imagined evil which the body cannot resist, the body trembles at once — not from cognition, but by a certain natural order, or naturally, insofar as the power of the imagined evil is more potent. And likewise God, when he turns his power upon the earth, although he does not experience wrath cognitively, the earth naturally trembles. "Foundations," that is, certain hollows, or the hollow earth, by whose motion the mountains are shaken. "Because he was angry," etc. The first cause is the will of God, or his power willing to act in them; but he does this through the mediation of secondary causes, so that all secondary causes are compared to the earth as the imagined evil that disturbs the members. "There went up a smoke." Here note, according to the Philosopher, that from moist earth, by the power of the sun's heat, a warm and moist vapor is released; but from dry earth, a dry and warm vapor — but by nature the second ascends more than the first. For this is assimilated to fire, the other to air; and this vapor the Psalmist calls smoke, as being warm and dry. The Philosopher, however, calls it the matter of conflagration. For this vapor, borne upward with a slight increase of heat, is set aflame in a circular manner. This dry smoke, if it has length and breadth, once it is kindled, is called flame. For flame, according to the Philosopher, is "a breath of dry burning." If it has length only, it is called "daly" or firebrands, and "aeges" or goats, and "stars." "Daly" is when the matter of that conflagration is long, continuous, without sparkling. It is called "goats" when it is with sparkling, that is, when it seems to leap and run about, like goats. "Stars," when the matter is discontinuous, and it seems to fly like stars — and this has the least of matter. There is also another kind of "stars," which is cold expelling heat; and such stars do not seem to fly, but rather to be hurled, as the Philosopher says; and these are generated not from wholly dry smoke, but from a more moist and warm vapor, which by its nature does not ascend as much as the dry, as has been said. And because it is dry, it suffers from the cold and is beaten back, and is cast downward. And this happens in the day and in clear weather; otherwise it would be extinguished by the density and moisture of the air. And because it is seen in daytime, this is a sign that it is near the earth. It is kindled, moreover, in two ways: by continuation, as an upper flame kindles a lower lamp; or by motion arising from cold and constriction, or the massing together of the warm. So then he says, "there went up smoke," that is, a dry exhalation; "in his wrath," that is, through his will, wishing to act in it. "And fire," that is, that smoke which is also called "fire" by the Philosopher at the beginning of the Metaphysics, as it were because it has no proper name of its own — just as the moist exhalation is called "vapor" — but it is called fire because it is disposed to ascent, and because it is warm and dry like fire. For this fire "flamed," that is, was kindled, namely by God as by the first cause; and this kindled fire is called "dalus," flame, and stars — stars, I say, generated in the first way, as has been said. "And coals were kindled by it," that is, stars generated in the second way. Or thus: "The earth shook," etc. Dry vapor, raised from the earth by the power of the sun's heat, is sometimes subtle, and then it is raised higher and produces intensification, as said above. Sometimes it is somewhat coarser at the surface of the earth; hence, being beaten back by the cold, it does not ascend as much, and becomes wind. Sometimes a coarser dry vapor is raised into the earth, which, on account of its coarseness and the solidity and depth of the earth, does not exhale outward, but is enclosed in the earth, and is gathered into some hollow of the earth similar to itself, and is compressed by some body not similar to it in kind, and thus is agitated in the bowels of the earth, and thus disturbs it. Nor is it strange, since we see wind at sea making waves like mountains, and on land raising up trees and making buildings collapse, and in the air making the greatest tempests. That wind is the cause of an earthquake is shown by the sign that before an earthquake there usually occurs a calm from winds, but after the earthquake there are winds. Now the matter of the earthquake, made subtle by the heat of the sun, exhales from the earth, and thus the earthquake ceases and wind arises. The cause of an earthquake is the impulsion of one wind by another; and for this reason it cannot occur over the whole earth at once, but lasts for at most two hundred miles, as Seneca says. And he says that an earthquake divided Sicily from Calabria, and Spain from Africa. And it lasts sometimes for forty days, sometimes for a year. Note also that solid earth, from which vapor cannot escape outward, is apt to be moved quickly; for that which is of stony nature is not lightly moved and shaken; yet it must be porous in some part, so that vapor may enter — that it may enter through the pores, and be contained by the solidity. And if you say, if it enters it cannot go out, it must be said that it cannot always do this, because sometimes the entry and elevation of vapor into that place is continually renewed. And again, because heat does not go downward, the wave of the sea cooperates in this, closing the pores, and by its cold shutting it in below. Hence hollow places near the sea frequently cause earthquakes. Note also that this vapor continually issues from the earth in some measure, and therefore in times of earthquakes animals that carry their heads near the ground are often poisoned by that venomous vapor issuing from the earth. "He bowed." Here he treats of the winds. Note that the matter of wind is vapor or dry exhalation, heated, but not so refined that it can ascend to the highest place, nor so heated; hence it is hindered by the cold and thickened and beaten back downward, and this repercussion moves the air. Yet it has enough heat that it is not so overcome by the cold as to be converted back to earth; and it is called "mist," and is said to be "under his feet," because it is not high like that which is kindled into flame. Sometimes, however, it is not immediately beaten back, but stirs the clouds, because it is not wholly overcome, nor does it directly return downward to the earth; and on account of this twisting motion it strives, as it were, to ascend upward, and is not able because of the repercussion; and this is what he says. "And he flew." Here he treats of the changes of the air according to bodily effects; and there is a threefold change, namely in winds, in clouds, and in thunders; and he treats of each. Concerning the first he proposes three things: first, the efficient cause of all these transmutations; second, the matter; third, the manner. Now the cause of all these is the heavenly body, which by its motion causes these alterations of the air; and therefore he says, "he bowed the heavens," that is, he ordained the power of the heavenly bodies to these effects, because they have this from God. "And he came down." Although God, remaining immovable, works all things, he is nevertheless said to move through the effect, insofar as he makes movable effects. Wisdom 7, "wisdom is more moving than all moving things"; and accordingly he is said to come down, insofar as he makes the power of the heavens come down. The matter of the winds is mist, or dry smoke, not so subtle as to ascend up to fire, but persisting; and he says "under his feet," that is, under his power; and all this is from God. The manner: "he ascended upon the Cherubim." It should be noted that the Jews imagine that just as a king has a chariot, so God too has a chariot, which is the Cherub; and they imagine God as corporeal and like the Cherub. And so in Jerome's version of the Psalm it is also said word for word, "he rode upon the Cherub." And these people have a false imagination, because things said figuratively in Scripture are signs of spiritual truth. Now divine wisdom is said to move insofar as it causes motion in movable things. Whatever God causes in these lower things, he causes through the ministry of a spiritual creature; hence Augustine says that God moves the bodily creature by means of the spiritual creature; but the spiritual creature does not do this by its own power, but with God presiding. And he is said to do this especially through the Cherub, because "Cherub" is interpreted "fullness of knowledge," and God does all things through his knowledge. And he is said to be "upon the Cherub" because the knowledge of God exceeds the knowledge of the angels. And therefore God does this, "flying," that is, making to fly. And "through the Cherub," that is, through his own knowledge, and above those whom he exceeds; and he said "he flew" because the motion of wind is not uniform; and he says "the wings of the winds" on account of the swiftness of their motion. Mystically here is set forth the mystery of the Incarnation. First is set forth Christ's incarnation, by which he went forth and came into the world; second, his ascension, by which he went to the Father, at "he ascended upon the Cherubim"; third, those things which were done in the Church after Christ's ascension, at "and he made darkness." He says therefore, "he bowed the heavens and came down," etc. If some great man abases himself before someone small from a village, it is said to be an injury and a debasement to the whole place over which he presides. So the Son of Man is said to humble himself and bow the heavens, because he willed to come to us in humility. "He came down," that is, he appeared visibly: Baruch 3, "afterward he was seen upon earth, and conversed with men"; 1 John 1, "that which we have seen and heard, and our hands have handled, of the word of life." He came down, then, through humility, by taking on human flesh, by dying, and by teaching humble things. Or, "he bowed the heavens," that is, the preachers, "and came down," making them speak things capacious to men. And "mist," that is, the devil and all the wicked, "under his feet," that is, of Christ: Psalm 109, "I will make your enemies your footstool." Of the ascension he says, "he ascended upon the Cherubim." Ephesians 4, "he who descended is the same also who ascended above all the heavens, that he might fulfill all things." "Upon the Cherubim," that is, above the orders of the angels: Ephesians 1, "setting him at his right hand in the heavenly places, above all principality and power and virtue and dominion," etc.: "and he has subjected all things under his feet, and has made him head over all the Church, which is his body": Jeremiah 32, "most mighty, great, and powerful, the Lord of hosts is your name, great in counsel, and incomprehensible in thought." And he says specifically "upon the Cherubim," because he ascends not only as being superior to them also, but because he is incomprehensible to them. "He flew, he flew" — a twofold flight is understood here. First, insofar as his fame after the ascension grew in a short time throughout the whole world; hence he says, "upon the wings of the winds," that is, more than the feathers that are scattered by the impulse of the winds, because in a short time, before three years had passed — Psalm 18, "their sound has gone forth into all the earth," etc. — because this happened before the destruction of Jerusalem. Or, "he flew," etc., ascending into heaven, made invisible, and flew from our sight: Acts 1, "a cloud received him out of their sight." Likewise "he flew upon the wings of the winds," that is, above the knowledge of the angels: Psalm 103 (104), "who makes his angels spirits," etc. Hence it is said in the Book of Causes, Book 5, that the first cause is higher than all narration, and tongues do not fail in narrating it except because they fail in narrating its being, since it is above every cause. And the Commentator says that of it there is neither judgment nor cognition. "And he made darkness," etc. As has been said, the things introduced here to show the wondrous power of God, by which David was freed, can be referred to bodily effects in figure, and to spiritual effects in mystery. First, then, the Psalmist introduces, according as it is expounded according to bodily effects, the excellence of divine power in the air; and this in three ways: as regards winds, as regards rains and clouds, and as regards lightnings. And since it has been spoken of above concerning winds, it remains to speak of rains in the air. Second, then, as regards clouds and rains, we find a twofold change in the air: one from clear to cloudy, the other from cloudy to clear. First, then, he sets down the first change; second, the second, at "before the brightness." As to the first he does three things: first he shows the obscurity of cloudy weather; second, he applies a comparison; third, he sets down the cause of the obscurity. He says therefore, as to the first: "he made darkness his covert." It is said that God dwells in heaven; hence when clouds hide the sky, God seems to dwell in a hidden place: Ezekiel 32, "I will cover the heaven." And he sets down a comparison from a tabernacle; and so he says, "his tabernacle round about him." For a tabernacle is set up and taken down like clouds. He says, "dark water in the clouds of the air." Next he treats of the second. "Before the brightness," etc., and he uses this comparison: when light comes, darkness is driven away; and so, God showing his light, the obscurity of the clouds flees. And therefore he says: "at the brightness in his sight the clouds passed" — before the brightness of light from your face the clouds passed, just as at the brightness or splendor of the sun clouds flee and dissolve, as is said in the Book of Meteorology. "Dali" or firebrands are placed at the passing of the clouds, because hail and lightning, or fire, have a similar cause of generation. The ancients indeed say that they are generated in the highest place, which shows that a stronger congealing is caused by a stronger cold. Hence snow requires more of cold than water; rain and hail require more than snow; and the cold can be such that it at once condenses into hail — sometimes first into water, and afterward into hail. And they say that vapors raised up higher are congealed greatly, and therefore great hailstones are generated. But the Philosopher says, on the contrary, that they would be greater on mountains and in winter — the contrary of which we observe, since they are greater in the valley, and occur in spring and autumn, and are generated in a place nearby. Likewise according to the Philosopher, sometimes they come angular, which is a sign that they come from nearby, for angles melt more quickly. Hence it should be known that it is natural for an opposite to act more strongly upon its opposite. Now it is established that in clouds cold and heat are mixed together; therefore when the surrounding heat of the air constricts the cold which it cannot consume, then the cold acts more intensely on the inside while the heat surrounds it from outside. Falling firebrands, moreover, have a twofold cause of generation: one through smoke ascending upward to the place of inflammation, which is set aflame, and thus, once inflamed, descends until it finds combustible matter. And this he touched on when he said, "coals were kindled by it." And here he touches another manner, which is through contrary resistance. In a cloud sometimes there is something warm, and this is constricted inwardly by the cold from outside and multiplies, so that it draws together coarse matter and falls; and therefore coals, fire, and hail have a similar generation, namely the constriction of cold or of heat, as has been said. He says therefore, "before the brightness in his sight," etc.; and these — namely fire and hail, which are generated from clouds, as has been said — passed at the same time. Here he treats of the third change. And first of thunder; second of lightnings, at "he sent forth his arrows." It should be known that the Psalmist speaks here according to this comparison, that whatever happens in the sky is attributed to God. Hence he takes the sound heard in the sky as if it were the voice of God. Now there is a twofold sound in the sky. One is in thunder; and here, although some say it is the extinguishing of fire in a cloud, the Psalmist rejects this, and says that it happens through the striking together of winds — and so also of clouds. And therefore the Psalmist says, "the Lord thundered from heaven." Likewise, sometimes coarse clouds from which hailstones are generated do so at times with a sound; hence the Philosopher says that sometimes before hail there is a crashing of clouds, sometimes not: for just as warm and dry vapor, expelled by the cold, splitting the cloud, makes a sound, as is clear in lightning, so moist vapor congealed into hail, and expelled by heat, splits it in some manner and makes a sound. And therefore he says, "the Highest gave his voice," that is, manifested his power; and there follows, "hail and coals of fire," which are generated from these clouds, as has been said. Or thus, "he thundered from heaven." Note that sometimes moist vapor ascends to the upper place; and because it is of the nature of water, moist impressions are made from it, which are mist, dew, fog, rain, hail, and snow, and the like. These are diversified sometimes according to the diversity of the fineness and thickness of heat and cold. For sometimes dry vapor ascends; and if it ascends alone, it makes winds; but if that dry vapor is enclosed within moist vapor, then when the moist vapor ascends upward and begins to be thickened on account of cold, the dry vapor enclosed within that moist vapor produces great agitation and is inflamed — for such vapor is quickly inflamed, as may be seen in the vapor that issues from a man's belly — and this inflammation is the cause of lightning and coruscation. Now the dry vapor, agitated within the interior of the clouds, makes manifold sound. If, being thus inflamed, it strikes the sides of the cloud and does not split it, then it flashes without clearness, as if one saw some brightness through a cloth — for the cloud is somewhat permeable, hence it is seen in some manner. It sounds, moreover, like the sound of flame in the midst of a fire. Sometimes also, without inflammation, and consequently without coruscation, a sound occurs, as it were tumultuous; and this happens when it strikes, not inflamed, on the sides of the cloud. But if it strikes the sides and splits them, yet with a certain difficulty, and this in the thicker part of the cloud, then there is a terrible sound, as if someone were tearing a cloth of immense width, and then the appearance of the lightning or coruscation is curved, because it does not go straight out of the cloud, as has been said. Sometimes it splits the cloud with great force and as it were suddenly, and the whole vapor issues forth at once; and then it sounds like an inflated bladder, or as if an inflated skin were burst over someone's head; and it strikes the air with the strongest percussion. Sometimes that dry vapor grows by inflation, and seeking a larger place, causes the cloud to dissolve suddenly, and to sound after the manner of green logs crackling in the fire, or especially of eggs; and this appears most of all in chestnuts, which, placed in the fire, when the moisture begins to be released and to seek a larger place, break the resisting shell, and issue forth with force and a great sound. Sometimes, too, not being able to get out, it is extinguished, and sounds after the manner of hot iron extinguished in water — which sound the Philosopher calls "sisinus," or a hissing. Sometimes also that vapor makes various openings in places of the cloud that are less dense, and then it makes as it were the sound of a whistle, like wind when it goes out through openings. Sometimes, before it is kindled, it bursts out from the cloud, and then it sounds like blacksmith's bellows when they blow. "Lightnings." Here he describes the movement of lightnings, and compares them to arrows on account of the vehemence of the wind by which they are moved. "And he scattered them," namely sinners, who are sometimes moved by them; for according to the diversity of winds is the diversity of the movement of lightning — for just as above, when he was treating of the manner of the winds, he said, "he flew, he flew," etc., to show the diverse manner of the winds, so here he says, "lightnings," etc., to show the diverse movement of lightnings. He says, "he troubled them," because Pliny says (Book 2, chapter 12) that auguries are taken according to lightnings, because sometimes it is a good sign, namely when they occur from the east; sometimes it is not good; and therefore men taking auguries are troubled on account of presages of future things. "And the fountains appeared." Here he treats of the generation of waters, which flow forth from certain sources, called springs, from which all generation of waters comes. These, moreover, are generated in two ways. Sometimes from a customary and natural cause: as when vapors are raised over the earth, and from this raising are cooled above, and come down and become rains; so also from the heat of the earth within, when vapors do not go out, they are gathered and dissolved into water, and become springs of water. Just as rains are generated in the air, so springs in the earth; and therefore around mountains from which vapors do not go out, springs are formed. And this is what he says, "the fountains of waters appeared." Sometimes springs are generated from an overturning of the earth by an earthquake, from whose disturbance veins of water submerged in the depth of the earth appear; and therefore he says, "and the foundations of the world were laid bare." The Philosopher: the overturning is from wind enclosed within, just as wind in the air disturbs the air. But when the wind is held back, an earthquake occurs; and either wind seems to be the wrath of God. And therefore he speaks of it as done through the earth, like an earthquake. Mystically, according to spiritual effects: and just as above was shown the mystery of the Incarnation, signifying the Incarnation itself by which he came down, and the ascension, so here are designated the things that followed after. First, then, he shows his concealment; second, the gathering of the Church, at "round about him"; third, the preaching of the apostles, at "dark water." As to the first he says, "he made darkness." The Gloss distinguishes darkness in four ways. First, his humanity: Ezekiel 32, "I will cover the sun with a cloud"; Isaiah 45, "truly you are a hidden God." Second, the sacramental species, such as Baptism and the other sacraments, in which the divine power operates secretly. Third, he lay hidden in the faith of the faithful: 2 Corinthians 5, "as long as we are in the body, we are absent from the Lord." Fourth, he works something hiddenly through the wicked, who are darkness: John 1, "the light shines in the darkness, and the darkness did not comprehend it." Sometimes the wicked are permitted to do something against the saints; but while these darknesses exist, "his tabernacle," that is, the Church, "is round about him": Psalm 45, "the Most High has sanctified his own tabernacle"; Revelation 21, "behold the tabernacle of God with men," etc., through faith and charity, insofar as they cling to him as to a medium, which favors them equally, as the Gloss says. "Dark water in the clouds of the air." Here he treats of the preaching of the apostles. And first he sets down the quality of the preaching; second, the condition of the preachers, at "clouds"; third, the effect of the preaching, "the fountains of waters appeared." He says therefore, "dark water," that is, doctrine, "in the clouds," that is, in the prophets and preachers. He calls these "clouds" because, raised up from earthly things, they rain down the word of God as clouds do: Isaiah 60, "who are these that fly as clouds," etc.; and Isaiah 45, "drop down dew, ye heavens, from above, and let the clouds rain the just." Or he says "in the clouds of the air," that is, the apostles raised up from the earth: Isaiah 5, "I will command the clouds to rain no rain upon it." And the apostles are called "dark water" in comparison to the brightness, that is, Christ, who will appear to those who see him: 1 Corinthians 13, "we now see through a glass in a dark manner, but then face to face." Or otherwise, and thus it is to be punctuated: "dark water in the clouds of the air: before the brightness in his sight the clouds passed"; afterward follows, "hail and coals of fire," etc. And a twofold doctrine is distinguished: namely that of the prophets, and this is obscure, because it has a veil, as is said in 2 Corinthians 3, "even until this day the selfsame veil, in the reading of the old testament, remains not taken away, because in Christ it is made void." Therefore it is said, "dark water," in the prophets, that is, doctrine. But the doctrine of the New Testament is clear; and therefore he says, "before the brightness" — the whole is one expression, meaning "shining" — because, as is said in Ephesians 3, "in other generations it was not known"; Psalm 147, "he has not done in like manner to every nation." Next he treats of the teachers themselves, and they are compared to clouds, arrows, and lightnings — to clouds as regards the preachers. And he says three things: first their passage over, "clouds"; the quality of their preaching, "hail and coals of fire"; the authority of their preaching, "he thundered." "Clouds," that is, the apostles, "passed," from the Jews to the Gentiles: Job 37, "the clouds spread their light, which they scatter round about." Acts 13, "to you it behooved us first to speak the word of God; but because," etc. Hail does much harm to fruits and flowers, and their preaching was as it were a hail of threatening. And "coals of fire," that is, inflaming words; and their authority, because the Lord spoke through them. Hence, "the Lord thundered from heaven," that is, he thundered words of threatening to the apostles themselves, Matthew 10, "for it is not you that speak, but the spirit of your Father who speaks in you," etc. "And the Highest gave his voice," namely of gentleness, by inflaming: James 1, "with meekness receive the engrafted word," etc. And first there follows the word "hail," from the second, "coals of fire." Or otherwise, "he thundered," over Christ: John 12, "there came a voice from heaven, saying: I have glorified it, and will glorify it again"; the crowd that heard it said that it had thundered. "And the Highest gave his voice," at the Transfiguration: Luke 3, "this is my beloved Son." "He sent forth his arrows." Here these teachers are compared to arrows on account of the fervor of the Holy Spirit in them: Isaiah 49, "he has made me as a chosen arrow"; and Isaiah 27, "they who go forth with impetus from Jacob shall fill the face of the world with seed." "And he scattered them," because to some they were the odor of life unto life, to others the odor of death unto death: 2 Corinthians 2. "He multiplied lightnings." He says this on account of the clarity of miracles: Job 38, "will you send lightnings, and will they go, and will they say to you: here we are?" "And he troubled them," that is, made them astonished: in Acts 3 it is said of the miracle of Peter that all were filled with wonder and ecstasy at what had happened. "The fountains appeared." Here is set down the effect of the preaching. And first the effect itself is set down; second, its principle, at "at the reproof." And there is a twofold effect. One is shown when he says, "the fountains of waters appeared," that is, the teachings of wisdom: Isaiah 41, "I will open rivers in the high hills, and fountains in the midst of the plains: I will turn the desert into pools of water, and the impassable land into streams of waters"; likewise Isaiah 12, "you shall draw waters with joy out of the fountains of the Savior." Or the gifts of the Holy Spirit: Zechariah 13, "there shall be a fountain open to the house of David, and to the inhabitants of Jerusalem, for the washing of the sinner and of the unclean woman." The other effect is set down when he says, "the foundations were laid bare," namely the holy patriarchs, upon whom our faith is founded — because what was said or done in them figuratively has been revealed through the apostles. Now the beginning of these things is when Christ began to reproach: Matthew 4, "do penance; it has drawn near," etc.; Luke 13, "unless you do penance, you shall all likewise perish." "At the blast of the spirit of your wrath," when he inspired that all should be troubled against sins. "He sent." Above the Psalmist treated of the power of the one who liberates; here he pursues in order the benefit of the liberation, and concerning this he does two things: first he gives thanks for the liberation as regards the past; second, as regards the future, which he hopes for, at "and I will be spotless with him." As to the first he sets down three things: first he tells from what he has been freed; second, the liberation itself, at "and he became"; third, the cause of the liberation, at "he saved me." As to the first he does two things: first he shows himself freed from great tribulations; second, he explains how great the tribulations were, at "he snatched me." The Gloss says according to the letter, "he sent from on high," as if to say: God is powerful, because he does all the aforesaid things — namely to shake, etc., to thunder, etc. — having supreme power. And this, "from on high," that is, from his power, "he took me," snatching me away; "and he received me," that is, he lifted me up, protecting me "from many waters," that is, from many tribulations: Psalm 33, "many are the tribulations of the just, and out of them all," etc.; Ecclesiasticus 51, "you have delivered me from the gates of afflictions that surrounded me, and from the pressure of the flame which surrounded me." Mystically, God sent his own Son from on high, that is, from heaven: John 8, "I came down from heaven, not to do my own will," etc. This is what he was asking for: Psalm 143, "send forth your hand from on high." "And he delivered me from many waters," Psalm 18 (19), "his going forth is from the end of heaven," etc. Or the Holy Spirit: Lamentations 1, "he has sent fire from above." "And he took me," being weak, to heal me. "And he took me from many waters," namely of Baptism, or from the multitude of sins. Or, "he sent from on high," that is, his grace to just men: James 1, "every good gift," etc. "And he took me," unto penance: Isaiah 40, "he shall feed his flock like a shepherd, he shall gather together the lambs with his arm," etc.; Hosea 11, "I was like a foster-father to Ephraim, I carried them in my arms." Or of peoples, because the faithful have been taken up from the multitude of the Gentiles. "He snatched me away." Here he proves how great the tribulations were. And first from the condition of the enemies; second from their persecution, at "because they were strengthened." The condition of enemies is very harmful, because they are powerful and full of hatred; hence, "he delivered me from my strongest enemies, and from them that hated me." Mystically, "the powerful" are carnal sins: Ecclesiasticus 18, "if you give to your soul her desires, she will make you a joy to your enemies"; Isaiah 49, "shall the prey be taken from the strong?" Those who hate are the demons. Exodus 1, "the Egyptians hated the children of Israel"; Psalm 88 (89), "I will beat down his enemies before his face," etc. Next is set down the persecution. One can be freed from enemies in two ways: either by not allowing oneself to be overcome, or by fleeing. He excludes both from himself. First, because they, strong and strengthened, that is, multiplied, would have overcome him, nor could he flee; and this is what he says, "they prevented me," blocking now the way of flight: Lamentations 4, "our persecutors were swifter than the eagles of the air, they pursued us upon the mountains"; and this, "in the day of my affliction," because then man is weaker, when he is afflicted: Lamentations 1, "all her persecutors have taken her in the midst of straits." He sets down a twofold help of the liberator. First, against prevailing enemies; hence he says, "and the Lord became my protector," so that they might not harm him: Psalm 63, "you have protected me, O God, from the assembly of the malignant," etc. Second, against the crafty; hence there follows, "he brought me forth into a large place," out of the narrow place in which I was set, not knowing what to do, giving ways of knowing what to do. Or into the breadth of charity: Psalm 118 (119), "your commandment is exceedingly broad." The cause of the liberation is twofold: namely divine grace, and human merit. Hence he says, "he saved me, because he was well pleased with me." This is the most powerful cause of liberation, namely his own will: Ephesians 1, "who works all things according to the counsel of his will"; and yet subsequently some human merit operates there too: 1 Corinthians 15, "the grace of God in me has not been void." And therefore he adds, "the Lord will reward me," etc. Here he does three things: first he proposes the merit; second, in what it consists; third, he sets down the way of arriving at this merit. The second begins at "because I have kept," etc.; the third at "because all his judgments." Man's merit consists in two things, namely in the doing of good and in the avoidance of evil: Psalm 33 (34), "turn away from evil and do good." And therefore as to the first he says, "the Lord will reward me according to my justice," which he himself has worked in me: Wisdom 3, "the souls of the just are in the hand of God, and the torment of malice shall not touch them," etc.; Proverbs 11, "he that sows justice, gets a sure reward." As to the second he says, "according to the cleanness of my hands he will reward me," that is, my innocence: Job 22, "the innocent shall be saved, and he shall be saved in the cleanness of his hands. He shall not be deprived of good things," etc. Psalm 83 — but this justice consists in the observation of the ways of God: Psalm 118 (119), "I have run the way of your commandments." And therefore he says, "because I have kept the ways of the Lord": Job 23, "my foot has followed his steps, I have kept his way and have not declined from it"; and "have not done wickedly," departing from God — because through sin man departs from God, and is defiled: Psalm 43 (44), "our heart has not turned back." How did he arrive at this? Because "all his judgments are in my sight." It avails greatly for doing good and avoiding evil to think on the judgments of God: Job 19, "flee from the face of the sword, for the sword is the avenger of iniquities." "And I kept this, for I have not put away his justice from me," by sinning deliberately: Job 21, "they said to God: depart from us." And there follows, "a flood shall come upon them." He who sins from weakness or ignorance easily obtains pardon. "And I will be." Above the Psalmist recalled the benefit of liberation as to the past; here, as to the future, as regards hope. And first he recalls the benefits in general; second, in particular, both what he has received and what he hopes for, at "my God, his way is undefiled"; third, he commends divine justice. As to the first he does two things: first he proposes a resolve toward God; second he commends the hope of being heard, at "for you enlighten." He proposes three things: first, the resolve of persevering in innocence; second, the merit of retribution; third, he assigns the reason. The second begins at "he will reward"; the third at "with the holy, you will be holy." He says therefore, "and I will be spotless with him," that is, I will cleave to God — for he speaks in the person of himself and of others, some of whom are innocent; and therefore he says, "and I will be," that is, I will stand and persevere in innocence: Ecclesiasticus 31, "blessed is the man that is found without blemish"; or, "I will be spotless with him," that is, I will cleave to God: 1 Corinthians 6, "he who cleaves to God is one spirit," etc., preserving you from every stain: Job 27, "till I die, I will not depart from my innocence." Some are penitents; and to this pertains that they not slip back again into sin (and therefore he says, "and I will keep myself from my iniquity") — like the dog that returns to its vomit, and the sow washed wallowing in the mire, 2 Peter 2; Ecclesiasticus 26, "in two things my heart was grieved, and in the third my anger came upon me: a man of war fainting through poverty, and a man of sense despised, and one that passes from justice to sin, God has prepared him for the sword." Next he sets down the hope of retribution when he says, "and the Lord will reward me according to my justice." And there is a twofold retribution. One, which is given for good things fulfilled; and concerning this he says, "the Lord will reward me according to my justice." Anselm: "justice is the rightness of the will kept for its own sake." Or he will render to him according to man's works: Psalm 62, "he will render to every man according to his works." He says, "I will keep," and "he will reward," because if a man was at some time just and did works of justice, and does not keep himself from sins, or does not preserve himself in works of justice, therefore he is put to death, and does not merit the retribution: Ezekiel 18, "none of his justices shall be remembered." The other is that which is given for benefits; hence he says, "he will reward me according to the cleanness of my hands, in the sight of his eyes." Sometimes people have only outwardly clean hands, that is, pure operations, and for these God will not reward; but when they have pure operations in their heart, then he will reward. And this is, "in the sight of his eyes" — not in those good things which are in our sight, but in the sight of God: Isaiah 64, "the eye has not seen a God besides you." And what will he reward? Ineffable joy, and increase of grace, which come forth from the commandments of God kept: Psalm 18 (19), "in keeping them there is a great reward." "And he will reward me according to the cleanness of my hands," that is, of my works. Now a work is called impure by reason of carnal affection: Isaiah 1, "your hands are full of blood." Likewise by reason of vainglory: Matthew 6, "take heed that you do not your justice before men, to be seen by them; otherwise you shall not have a reward." Gregory: "it is great folly to do a great deed and to gape after praise — to seek in return a vain and transitory word for that by which heaven could have been purchased." Next is set down the reason for the retribution; therefore there follows, "with the holy." Concerning this he does two things: first he sets down the reason for the retribution; second, he explains it, at "because you will save the humble people." The first two verses can be understood in two ways. In one way, so that it is understood as speaking to God; and thus is the literal sense — as if to say, You, O Lord, "will be holy with the holy." And thus he says two things: namely that God is the rewarder and approver of the good. Second, how he is the reprover of the wicked; hence there follows, "and with the innocent," etc., "and with the perverse you will be perverted." Now it should be known that he names, namely, the holy, the innocent, and the elect. Now "elect" can be understood in two ways. In one way, by God — this is common to all the saints: Ephesians 1, "God has chosen us before the foundation of the world," etc. In the other way, one is called elect who has an excellence of innocence and sanctity: Song of Songs 5, "my beloved is white and ruddy, chosen out of thousands." If "elect" is taken in the first way, then the second term is set down on our part, and the third on God's part. If in the second way, then he proposes two things which are on our part. The first is the doing of good which is done for God's sake, and which properly has the character of holiness — for all things that are ordered to God are called holy; and this is what he says, "O Lord, you will be holy with the holy," causing holiness in him: Leviticus 21, "I am God who sanctifies you." Or thus: "you will be holy" effectively, that is, showing that you love and approve holiness — for he does not show himself except through works, for we do not see his substance. Nor is he otherwise "holy with the holy" except by showing holiness — for he is not now visible to us, so that we might say that he conforms himself to the holy in exterior movements, as a man conforms himself variously to various people, especially to friends — because every animal loves its like; and what one loves, that one rewards. Hence, showing yourself holy, when will you reward, he asks, the works of holiness? "And with the innocent man you will be innocent," effectively and by rewarding. "And with the elect," whom you love, "you will be elect," because you will bring it about that he chooses you: John 15, "you have not chosen me, but I have chosen you" — from the beginning; Deuteronomy 4, "he loved your fathers, and chose their seed after them." And chapter 26, "you have chosen God this day, to be your God, and to obey his commandment: and the Lord has chosen you this day, to be his peculiar people, and he will make you higher than all nations, that you may be a holy people." Or, "elect," that is, excellently set apart. "And with the perverse you will be perverted," that is, you will permit him to be perverse. Or those are perverse who do not follow those whom they ought to follow. Whoever, then, does not follow the will of God, appears perverse. Therefore you are against the will of God, and God is against your will; as if to say: you wish to have beatitude, and God will give misery: Leviticus 26, "if you walk contrary to me, I also will walk contrary to you, and will strike you seven times for your sins." And therefore he says, "with the perverse you will be perverted," that is, acting against the will of the perverse. In another way it can be read so as to refer the discourse to some man; and thus, man with a holy man, or with Christ, "you will be holy" — because you will hear nothing of God but holiness: Exodus 37, "deal with the religious man concerning holiness"; "and with the innocent you will be innocent," because manners are formed according to companionship: 1 Corinthians 15, "evil communications corrupt good manners." "And with the perverse you will be perverted": Ecclesiasticus 13, "he that touches pitch shall be defiled with it, and he that has fellowship with the proud," etc. Next he explains the foregoing according to the first reading. Why will you be holy with the holy, O Lord? Because "you will save the humble people," that is, in this — that you will save the humble — you show that you are holy with the holy: James 4, "he gives grace to the humble"; Matthew 19, "suffer the little children to come to me, for of such is the kingdom of heaven"; Psalm 137 (138), "the Lord is high, and looks on the lowly." Why will you be perverted with the perverse? "Because you will bring down the eyes of the proud": Luke 14, "everyone that exalts himself shall be humbled"; Isaiah 2, "the eyes of the lofty are humbled, and the haughtiness of men shall be brought low." And he says "eyes," because pride consists in this, that a man raises his gaze to things greater than his own proportion: Isaiah 16, "his pride and his arrogance is more than his strength." And therefore Psalm 130 (131), "Lord, my heart is not exalted, nor are my eyes lofty." "Because." Here he turns himself to prayer; as if to say: thus you are just. "Because you enlighten my lamp, O Lord." And he does two things: first he reports the giving of thanks for the benefit received; second he sets down the petition for what is to be received, at "my God, enlighten my darkness." He says therefore, "you enlighten," etc. This whole thing can be expounded according to the letter in two ways: so that by "lamp" is understood prosperity, and by "darkness" is understood adversity. Just as when a man is joyful, all things seem clear to him; when he is sad, all things seem to grow dark to him. This, then, is what he says, "because you enlighten my lamp, O Lord," because you have given me prosperity, and continually give it: "enlighten my darkness," that is, if any adversity remains in me, drive it out and remove it from me. In another way it can be understood morally, so that by "lamp" is understood the mind or soul of man: Proverbs 20, "the lamp of the Lord is the breath of man." The mind of man, then, is as it were a lamp of God kindled by the divine light: Psalm 4, "it is signed upon us," etc. As long as we are without sin, our lamp is kindled, that is, our soul shines with the light of grace; but when some darkness of corruptible flesh remains, it is extinguished: Romans 7, "I myself, with the mind, serve the law of God; but with the flesh, the law of sin." And this is what he says, "because you enlighten my lamp," that is, because my soul is illuminated with the light of grace. "Enlighten my darkness," that is, remove from me the defects and corruptions through which man falls into darkness. Or it can be read allegorically, so that the words are spoken as it were in the person of Christ, or of any just man. In the Church there are many who shine, like the faithful and the saints: Philippians 2, "among whom you shine as lights in the world, holding forth the word of life." Likewise many are darkened, like unbelievers and sinners: Ephesians 5, "you were once darkness," etc. Therefore a man praying for the Church, or the Church praying for itself, says, "because you enlighten my lamp," that is, the faithful who shine, "enlighten the darkness," that is, the sinners. He sets down the hope of being heard when he says, "because." Here he does two things: first he touches on liberation from evil; second, victory over evil. He says therefore, I pray because I hope: "in you," that is, in your power, "I shall be delivered from temptation," that is, from any tribulation or assault whatsoever: 1 Corinthians 10, "God is faithful, who will not suffer you to be tempted above that which you are able." "And in my God I shall go over a wall," that is, I shall have victory over sin by the power of God. For then does the enemy have victory over the city, when he crosses over the wall. This wall is any difficulty which hinders us from acting well, or the sins which provoke us to do evil. Jerome says, "I will break through the wall," because we cannot be in the world without sin: 1 John 1, "if we say that we have no sin," etc. But we go over it, because we overcome it, so long as we do not consent to its concupiscences. There follows, "God." Above he recalled in general the benefits which he expects from God in the future, because "in you I shall be delivered," etc.; here he pursues them in particular. And it should be noted that he speaks after the manner of one having adversity and adversaries, from whom he hopes for victory; and in this there is a threefold degree. First, that he pursue his fleeing adversaries, and destroy them once captured. Second, that he reign over them, at "and you have girded me." Third, that he be exalted, at "and you will deliver me." As to the first he does three things: first he commends his helper, namely God; second, he shows how certain things have already been given to him by God, by which he is made fit for pursuing them; third, he treats of the pursuit. The second begins at "God, who has girded me"; the third at "I will pursue." The first is divided into two: first he commends God; second he proves the commendation, at "for who." He commends God, then, for three things: that he is just in work, truthful in speech, and merciful in aid. As to the first he says, "I shall be delivered from temptation," while I consider the purity of divine justice, because "my God, his way is undefiled." Again, while I consider his disposition, because there is nothing unjust in him: Ezekiel 18, "is not my way right, and are not your ways rather crooked?" Or the way of God by which God goes to the soul is undefiled. And this is charity: 1 Corinthians 12, "I show unto you yet a more excellent way," that is, that you may go securely. This is undefiled, because charity does not act perversely, that is, wrongly. Or the way of God is Christ himself, because he did not commit sin: Isaiah 35, "it shall be called the holy way, and the unclean shall not pass over it; and it shall be a right way, so that fools shall not err therein." Or the way of Christ is the Blessed Virgin: Psalm 76 (77), "your way is in the sea, this is undefiled"; Song of Songs 4, "you are all fair, my love," etc.; Isaiah 54, "enlarge the place of your tent." As to the second he says, "the words of the Lord." And he speaks by comparison to gold and silver, which, if it is pure, is tested by fire. Hence, just as gold purged by fire has nothing of impurity, so the words of the Lord are purged: Proverbs 8, "all my words are just, there is nothing wicked nor perverse in them," etc. "Tried by fire," Psalm 11 (12), "the words of the Lord are pure words, silver," etc. And they are said to be "tried by fire," namely of the Holy Spirit: Job 12, "the ear tries words, and the palate of him that eats, discerns the taste." No one can try words unless he has the fire of the Holy Spirit: 1 Corinthians 2, "the sensual man does not perceive the things that are of the Spirit of God." True — because he is truthful, he will fulfill what he has promised. And on account of this he says, "he is the protector of all that trust in him": Ecclesiasticus 2, "who has hoped in the Lord, and has been confounded?" Next he proves the commendation: because these are the properties, namely that he is just, that he is truthful, and that he is merciful. If, then, these things fit my God well, do not seek another. But there is no other God besides him. And therefore he says, "for who is God but the Lord?" As if to say: no one: Isaiah 42, "I am the Lord, this is my name"; Deuteronomy 6, "Hear, O Israel, the Lord your God is one." In this the Jews differed from others. For while others worshiped the elements of the world, or men, or angels, these being called their makers; the Jews, however, worshiped the true God, their maker. He says, then, that he is the God of all creation. Second, that he was worshiped specially by the Jews. As to the first he says, "who is God but the Lord," namely the maker of all creation? Judith 16, "let all your creation serve you." "Or who is God but our God," specially. 1 Kings 2, "there is none holy as the Lord: for there is none besides you, and there is none as strong as our God"; Psalm 75 (76), "God is known in Judea," etc. He is called "ours" specially by covenant-love, and worship, and unity of nature, and the taking on of flesh, and redemption. In this the Manicheans are confounded, because this is the God and Lord of visible things, and the God of the Old Testament is the true God, since there is no God besides him. "God." Here he shows how he has from God fitness for conquering. For God sometimes gives power to someone for doing good, and yet it does not suffice unless God also protects him exteriorly. First, then, he shows how God gave power interiorly; second, how he helps exteriorly, at "you have given me the shield of your salvation." Three things are necessary for anyone to win: that he be strong — Proverbs, last chapter, "strength and beauty are her clothing"; Luke 11, "a strong man armed keeps his court" — that he be agile, and that he be skilled in war; and he says he has these three. Second, at "who has made my feet"; third, at "who teaches my hands." As to the first he does two things: first he confesses that strength was given to him by God; second, the due use of that strength. He says therefore, "God who has girded me with strength unto war," etc. The soldiers mentioned are girded with arms and sword so as to be ready and prepared for battle: 1 Maccabees 3, "Judas Maccabeus put on a coat of mail like a giant, and girded himself with weapons of war for battles." This is fortitude, namely the power which has been given to me by God, not only in bodily wars, but also in spiritual ones, which I would not conquer without the power of God. And therefore he says, "he has girded me with strength": Ephesians 6, "be strengthened in the Lord, and in the might of his power"; Isaiah 40, "he gives strength to the fallen, and increases force and might to them that are not." Or he girded him after the manner of a runner, lest he be hindered by the trailing of his garments. So the power of God restrains the affections, lest they flow away toward earthly things. And so there follows, "and he made my way blameless": 1 Kings 25, "blessed be God, who has kept his servant from evil"; Psalm 118 (119), "blessed are the undefiled in the way." Or this way is the way of charity, which does not act perversely, as said above. "Who." Here is set down the agility which is necessary for fighting. It is said in 1 Kings 24 that Saul went out against David upon the steepest rocks, which are passable only to deer; as if to say, God has conferred on me such agility that I went as it were like a deer through the mountains. "And has set me upon high places." On steep mountains a man's footsteps do not hold; but God gave him such grace that he did not slip on them. Mystically it is read thus: the deer crosses over thorns and forests without injury; so the spiritual affection passes through without injury or infection from evil things, or from the delights of the world: Genesis, blessing of Jacob, "Naphtali is a deer let loose, giving words of beauty"; Isaiah 35, "then shall the lame man leap as a deer." "And has set me upon high places," that is, upon heavenly things he has fixed my mind firmly: Habakkuk 3, "he, the victor, will lead me upon my high places." Next is set down military training; hence he says, "who teaches my hands to war." Military doctrine is acquired by knowledge, and its perfection by practice. First, then, he seeks the knowledge or doctrine, because this doctrine is necessary for soldiers. Proverbs 24, "war is managed by due ordering." But he, taught by God, says as regards the second, "you have made my arms like a bow of brass," that is, you have given me arms as it were untiring for warfare. Or, "who teaches," etc., that is, against vices and demons, he teaches us to work so as to overcome the enemies who strive to close the gates of heaven. Afterward, changing person, he says, "you have made," etc. Another reading has, "you have broken a bow of brass," that is, my arm. Psalm 143 (144), "blessed be the Lord my God, who teaches my hands to war," etc. Note that excellence of agility and excellence of strength is in lions, which, from excessive dryness, have no marrow in their bones; and this happens from a great imbalance of the elements mixed in them; and therefore they live but a short time; and this is not fitting in man on account of his operations; hence such things are said to have been given to David by a special gift, as is said in Ecclesiasticus 47, "he played with lions as with lambs, and did the like with bears as with their lambs." And likewise the doctrine of fighting was given to him by grace from God, mystically. We must be trained in the spiritual war. Ecclesiasticus 11, "there are many snares of the deceitful man, which we cannot escape unless we have both doctrine and divine help." Job 39, "the glory of his nostrils," that is, of the demon, "is terror; he despises fear, and does not yield to the sword." 1 Corinthians 4, "though our outward man is corrupted, yet the inward man is renewed day by day." "And you have given." Here he shows how the aforesaid things given to him are preserved by God exteriorly; hence he says, "you have girded me with strength," and yet he protects me too: "and you have given me the shield of your salvation," that is, you have protected me unto salvation, because the aforesaid things do not suffice unless the protection of God is present: Psalm 63 (64), "you have protected me, O God, from the assembly of the malignant," etc. "And your right hand has held me up," that is, the favor of your grace has strengthened me in battle. Of this battle, Ezekiel 3, "the hand of the Lord was with me, strengthening me." Or, "your right hand," that is, your Son, "has held me up," that is, my nature. Or, "me," being weak, to heal me, "and your discipline has corrected me unto the end," that is, finally and perfectly. Proverbs 3, "whom the Lord loves he chastens: and as a father in his son he is well pleased," etc.; hence, "your discipline has corrected me unto the end." As to the second he says, "discipline," etc. It happens sometimes that one doubts, sometimes that one errs. He, however, namely God, corrects errors; hence, "your discipline has corrected me unto the end," as said above. Likewise he directs doubtful things: "and your discipline, the same shall teach me." Psalm 118 (119), "teach me goodness and discipline and knowledge." As to the third he says, "you have enlarged my steps under me," as it were giving agility, and in this cherishing those who have wide steps when they are not straitened. Or spiritually, when the heart is made ready by charity for the good. Psalm 118 (119), "I ran the way of your commandments, when you enlarged my heart." "And my footsteps have not been weakened," because it does not fail. Or "footsteps," that is, the marks which are left along the way. "I will pursue." Above the Psalmist set down his fitness for conquering; here he treats of victory, how he pursued the fleeing; and concerning this he does two things: first he sets down the manner of the pursuit; second he shows the powerlessness of resistance, at "I will break them, and they shall not be able to stand." As to the first he does three things: first he shows the pursuit to be just; second, effective; third, persevering. Just, when he says, "I will pursue my enemies," not friends but enemies. 1 Maccabees 3, "Judas pursued his enemies, searching them out, and he burned with fire those who troubled his people." But it does not seem lawful for good men to inflict persecution upon others. Galatians 4, "as then he that was born according to the flesh persecuted him that was after the spirit, even so it is now." Therefore it belongs to carnal men to inflict persecution, and to spiritual men to suffer it. But it must be said that the affection of pursuing distinguishes the kind of persecution. For some pursue out of love and zeal: Psalm 68 (69), "the zeal of your house has eaten me up"; and they do this in order to lead someone to good or to salvation, or to prevent evil: Psalm 100 (101), "him that detracted his neighbor in private, I did pursue"; and in this manner the good pursue the wicked or sinners. Some pursue out of hatred, inflicting evil and hindering good; and in this manner the wicked, or carnal men, pursue just men: Psalm 70 (71), "pursue and take him," etc. Or, "I will pursue my enemies," that is, carnal affections, "and I will overtake them" — they will not overtake me — according to the Gloss. And he shows how effective he is in pursuing enemies; hence he says, "and I will overtake them." Then it is shown to be effective, when it arrives at the end so as to capture them. 2 Kings 5, "shall I go up against the Philistines, and will you deliver them into my hand? And the Lord said to David: go up," etc. And above: "he went on prospering and growing, and the Lord God of hosts was with him." Likewise he shows how he is persevering, because "I will not turn away," namely from the pursuit of the unjust, "till they are consumed," that is, until they are used up. 2 Kings 1, "the arrow of Jonathan never turned back." Morally, our enemies are the movements of concupiscence which are in us, and which wage continual wars. Romans 7, "I see another law in my members, warring against the law of my mind," etc. We ought to pursue and seize and bind these, dominate and restrain them. "And I will not turn away," that is, I will not cease pursuing, "till they fail," from rebellion. 2 Kings 8, "David struck the Philistines and humbled them." But these do not fail in this life; for though they are always diminished, yet they are never totally uprooted. Exodus 15, "I will draw out my sword, my hand shall slay them." Allegorically it is said of Christ, who pursues our enemies the Jews, and other sinners, punishing them bodily and spiritually. "I will break." Here he excludes their power of resisting; as if to say, they will not resist me, because "I will break them," that is, I will so diminish their strength, that "they shall not be able to stand." Psalm 35 (36), "all the workers of iniquity are fallen, they are cast down, and they could not stand." Job 38, "the high arm shall be broken," that is, they will not last against me, or will not be able to resist. Leviticus 26, "pursue your enemies, and they shall fall before you." And this is because they will come into my power; and this is what he says. "They shall fall under my feet." This too we ought to do concerning evil movements and sins, or demons. Malachi 4, "you shall tread down the wicked, when they shall be ashes under the sole of your feet." Luke 10, "behold I have given you power to tread upon serpents and upon all the power of the enemy, and nothing shall hurt you." Genesis 4, "your appetite shall be under you, and you shall have dominion over it." And all this is because "and you have girded me." Here he treats of their total abandonment; and he recalls two things: first, the divine benefit; second, their final extermination, at "and I will crush them," etc. And since the things he has said seem to pertain to his own glory, he therefore attributes them to God. And first he excludes his own power; second, he shows the casting down of his enemies, "you have supplanted"; third, their destitution of help, at "they cried out." He says, then: O Lord, you have done this to me, and "you have girded me with strength unto battle," that is, all the power I have for warring is from you, not from me. Isaiah 40, "he gives strength to the fallen, and increases force and might to them that are not." "And you have subdued under me them that rose up against me." He sets down the casting down of his enemies, of which he said three things: namely their flight, "you have made me turn my back"; their diminishment, "I will break"; and their fall, since "they shall fall"; and this he attributes to God, though not in the same order. First he sets down the fall of his enemies; as if to say, my enemies shall fall, "under me." Isaiah 40, "the youths shall faint and labor, and the young men shall fall through weakness"; but you have done this: "and you have subdued under me them that rose up against me," that is, you have taken away their power, so that they could not resist me. Leviticus 26, "five of yours shall pursue a hundred of the strangers." Second, he sets down the flight of his enemies, "and my enemies you have made to turn their back to me." Isaiah 45, "I will turn the backs of kings." Third he treats of their breaking: "and them that hated me you have destroyed" among the nations, whom they did not know. "They cried out." Here he shows that they are utterly desolate; hence he says, "they cried out, and there was none to save," because they had neither the help of men, nor even of the gods whom they themselves called the makers of things. Jeremiah 2, "where are your gods that you made yourself? Let them arise and deliver you in the time of your affliction"; hence there follows: "they cried to the Lord, but he heard them not." Isaiah 1, "when you multiply prayer, I will not hear." But on the contrary, Isaiah, second-to-last chapter, "before they call, I will hear"; Psalm 90 (91), "he shall cry to me, and I will hear him." And it must be said: when someone cries out, or prays, with a right intention, then he is heard, and God approves and hears his prayer. John 9, "if any man be a worshiper of God," that is, with right intention, "him he hears"; but when someone cries to God with feigned and false prayer, he does not hear him. James 4, "you ask, and receive not, because you ask amiss," that is, with evil intention, or with an unjust petition. Proverbs 1, "then shall they call upon me, and I will not hear: they shall rise in the morning, and shall not find me." Next he shows their total destruction; hence he says, "and I will beat them small." When dust is thrown, no trace remains, because the wind scatters it; so when the wicked are destroyed, they remain in no way at all; therefore he says, "and I will beat them as small as the dust before the wind." Psalm 2, "the wicked are like the dust which the wind drives from the face of the earth" — namely they are scattered. Psalm 9, "their memory has perished," etc. But since some are destroyed with a certain honor, he shows that the wicked, or sinners, are consumed in a vile and dishonorable way; hence he says, "I will bring them to nought like the dirt of the streets." Job 20, "though his pride mount up even to heaven," namely of the sinner, "and his head touch the clouds, in the end he shall be destroyed like a dunghill." Psalm 68 (69), "let them be blotted out of the book of the living." Isaiah 17, "he shall be carried away like dust before the mountains, before the wind," namely the sinner, "and like a whirlwind before a storm." Job 13, "your necks shall be turned into mire." "You will deliver me." Above the Psalmist recalled the persecution of his enemies, and their utter destruction; here he recalls his own exaltation, by which he was raised up to be king; and concerning this he does two things: first he sets down the exaltation; second, the giving of thanks, at "the Lord lives." As to the first he does two things: first he proposes his exaltation over the Jews; second he sets down the devotion of the Gentiles, at "a people"; third, the obstinacy of the Jews, at "strange children." This pertains more specially to Christ than to David. And so concerning this he does two things: first he shows how he is delivered from the contradiction of the Jews; second, how power is given to him against the Gentiles. He says therefore, "not only have you destroyed those that hated me, but you have also delivered me from the contradictions of the people." If this is understood of David, the Jews contradicted him greatly. 2 Kings 20, "we have no part in David, nor inheritance in the son of Jesse: return to your tents, O Israel." And they also contradicted Christ, as is clear in the Gospel. Hebrews 12, "think diligently upon him that endured such opposition against himself," etc. And from this David was delivered, and Christ too. "You will make me the head of the nations"; as if to say: the Jews do not wish me to rule over them, but you have made me lord both of the Jews and of the Gentiles. And this is fitting above all to Christ, as is said in Ephesians 1, "he has given him to be head over all the Church, which is his body." Then is set down the devout subjection of the Gentiles; hence he says, "a people which I have not known has served me" — a people, namely, foreign, that is, of the Ishmaelites and the Moabites, who, as is found in 2 Kings 8, were made tributary to him. Likewise to Christ: because those whom he did not know by visiting them bodily, served and obeyed him. Matthew 15, "I was not sent but to the sheep that are lost of the house of Israel," namely to visit them bodily. Or, "I have not known," that is, I have not approved by giving him the law and the prophets. Isaiah 55, "behold you shall call nations which you knew not: and the nations that knew not you shall run to you." "At the hearing of the ear they have obeyed me," because although they did not see me, from the hearing alone of the faith through the apostles they obeyed. Isaiah 65, "they have found me who did not seek me." Romans 10, "faith comes by hearing." Or, "at the hearing of the ear they have obeyed me," because as soon as they had heard, as is said in Matthew 4, "leaving all things, they followed him." "Strange children." Here is set down the obstinacy of the Jews; and he calls them "strange children," because formerly they were children begotten by God through grace and the teaching of the law. Exodus 4, "Israel is my firstborn"; yet they became strangers. Isaiah 1, "I have brought up children and exalted them." And there follows, "they have become estranged, and turned away." And they are strangers for a threefold reason: because "they have lied to me," because "they have grown old," because "they have limped." One is made a stranger from God when he does not keep faithfulness; and as to this he says, "they have lied to me," that is, they broke the covenant. Likewise when they do not follow the footsteps of the faithful fathers; hence, "they have grown old." A thing that has grown old is on the road to ruin. These were new at the beginning: 1 Chronicles 12, when they say: "we are yours, O David, and with you, sons of Jesse"; but little by little they grew tepid. Another thing is when one recedes entirely; hence he says, "they have limped from their paths," being weak as it were on one foot, keeping the Old Testament badly, and rejecting the New. Or if this is referred to Christ, "strange children have lied to me," because they had made a covenant with God: Exodus 24, "all things whatsoever God has spoken, we will do"; afterward they broke it: Psalm 65 (66), "your enemies shall lie to you through the greatness of your power." Likewise the virtue that was in the fathers is not in the children; therefore, "they have grown old": Baruch 3, "how is it, O Israel, that you are in your enemies' land, that you are grown old in a strange country?" Likewise, "they have limped from their paths," that is, from the precepts of the law, because they walk on one foot only, namely the literal sense, not the spiritual. Likewise literally too, "they have limped," because they followed only the traditions of the Pharisees: 3 Kings 18, "how long do you halt between two sides? If the Lord be God, follow him." "The Lord lives." Here is set down the giving of thanks; and concerning this he does three things: first he proposes it; second he sets down its matter, at "God who grants," etc.; third he bursts forth into praises of God, at "therefore the Lord lives." And he speaks of God after the manner of a king. In ancient times the way of saluting a king was, "long live the king." This fits God, because he himself is eternal life: Psalm 35 (36), "with you is the fountain of life." And so he says, "the Lord lives." Ezekiel 33, "as I live, says the Lord God." For he himself is the giver of life to men: John 1, "that which was made was life in him." Likewise for others a blessing is wished, but he himself is blessing itself, "blessed be my God." "My God" is said of the Son: Isaiah 9, "a son is given to us"; Psalm 66 (67), "may God, our God, bless us, may God bless us"; Daniel 3, "blessed are you, O Lord, God of our fathers, and praiseworthy, and blessed forever" — and this because he fills us with blessings. Third, he wishes for his exaltation, "and let the God of my salvation be exalted," that is, the author and giver of the salvation of grace in the present, and of glory in the future: Psalm 43 (44), "you are yourself my king and my God, who command the saving acts of Jacob." Likewise, ibid. 73 (74), "he has wrought salvation in the midst of the earth." He does not ask that God be exalted in himself, because he is the Most High: Psalm 86 (87), "the Most High himself has founded her"; but that he be exalted in our knowledge. And he says, "of my salvation," that is, who saves me: Isaiah 45, "a just God and a savior, there is none besides me"; Acts 4, "there is no other name given to men under heaven." Or, God who saves me, let him be exalted through his effect, that he may save me not only in the lowest things, but also in the highest: Matthew 21, "blessed is he that comes in the name of the Lord, hosanna in the highest"; Ecclesiasticus 43, "exalt him as much as you can, for he is above all praise"; Psalm 98 (99), "exalt the Lord our God, and adore his footstool, for it is holy." "God." Here is set down the matter of the thanksgiving, both for the benefit of the liberation from evil, and for the benefit of promotion to good; hence he says, "God," etc. And this can be said in the person of the Church, because those who persecute her will be subjected to her: Isaiah 60, "the children of them that afflicted you shall come bending unto you, and they shall worship the steps of your feet." Like Paul, who condemned Stephen, was cast down; hence it is a pious vengeance when the rebellious is subjected and humbled: therefore, "you are my deliverer." John 8, "if the Son shall make you free," etc. "Mine, from my angry enemies," not from just any, but from angry ones: Proverbs 27, "anger has no mercy"; hence it is a greater glory to be delivered from fervent evils. "And from them that rise up against me." Psalm 26 (27), "unjust witnesses have risen up against me," etc. "You will lift me up." He says this to show the providence of God, that is, in the very thing in which they believe they cast him down, he is exalted: Philippians 2, "for which cause God also has exalted him"; Genesis 7, "the waters were multiplied, and they lifted up the ark on high." "You will deliver me from the unjust man," that is, from the fraudulent: Psalm 139 (140), "deliver me, O Lord, from the evil man, rescue me from the unjust man." Next the thanksgiving is concluded on account of the aforesaid causes. "Therefore will I give glory to you, O Lord, among the nations," etc., that is, before all the people I will praise you: Tobit 12, "bless the God of heaven, and give glory to him in the sight of all that live." "And I will sing a psalm to your name." By "psalm" is understood good operation, because whatever good we do, we ought to do it for the glory of the name of God. "Giving great deliverance to his king." Jerome has, "thus to the one who magnifies and does for you," namely to him who magnifies and does, according to our text, "God who grants vengeances." And he is God insofar as he magnifies. And he sets down two things: one pertaining to the state of the kingdom, the other to the person, because both have been magnified. As to the first he says, "giving great deliverance to his king," because you have promoted me to the kingdom. Or, "of the king," that is, of Christ, through whose name all are saved: Acts 4, "there is no other name given," etc. As to the person he says, "and showing mercy to David his anointed, and to his seed forever," because he multiplied his seed just as he had promised.”

“Here, I. David reflects with comfort upon his own integrity, and rejoices in the testimony of his conscience that he had had his conversation in godly sincerity and not with fleshly wisdom, Co2 1:12. His deliverances were an evidence of this, and this was the great comfort of his deliverances. His enemies had misrepresented him, and perhaps, when his troubles continued long, he began to suspect himself; but, when God visibly took his part, he had both the credit and the comfort of his righteousness. 1. His deliverances cleared his innocency before men, and acquitted him from those crimes which he was falsely accused of. This he calls rewarding him according to his righteousness (Psa 18:20, Psa 18:24), that is, determining the controversy between him and his enemies, according to the justice of his cause and the cleanness of his hands, from that sedition, treason, and rebellion, with which he was charged. He had often appealed to God concerning his innocency; and now God had given judgment upon the appeal (as he always will) according to equity. 2. They confirmed the testimony of his own conscience for him, which he here reviews with a great deal of pleasure, Psa 18:21-23. His own heart knows, and is ready to attest it, (1.) That he had kept firmly to his duty, and had not departed, not wickedly, not wilfully departed, from his God. Those that forsake the ways of the Lord do, in effect, depart from their God, and it is a wicked thing to do so. But though we are conscious to ourselves of many a stumble, and many a false step taken, yet if we recover ourselves by repentance, and go on in the way of our duty, it shall not be construed into a departure, for it is not a wicked departure, from our God. (2.) That he had kept his eye upon the rule of God's commands (Psa 18:22): "All his judgments were before me; and I had a respect to them all, despised none as little, disliked none as hard, but made it my care and business to conform to them all. His statutes I did not put away from me, out of my sight, out of my mind, but kept my eye always upon them, and did not as those who, because they would quit the ways of the Lord, desire not the knowledge of those ways." (3.) That he had kept himself from his iniquity, and thereby had approved himself upright before God. Constant care to abstain from that sin, whatever it be, which most easily besets us, and to mortify the habit of it, will be a good evidence for us that we are upright before God. As David's deliverances cleared his integrity, so did the exaltation of Christ clear his, and for ever roll away the reproach that was cast upon him; and therefore he is said to be justified in the Spirit, Ti1 3:16. II. He takes occasion thence to lay down the rules of God's government and judgment, that we may know not only what God expects from us, but what we may expect from him, Psa 18:25, Psa 18:26. 1. Those that show mercy to others (even they need mercy, and cannot depend upon the merit, no, not of their works of mercy) shall find mercy with God, Mat 5:7. 2. Those that are faithful to their covenants with God, and the relations wherein they stand to him, shall find him all that to them which he has promised to be. Wherever God finds an upright man, he will be found an upright God. 3. Those that serve God with a pure conscience shall find that the words of the Lord are pure words, very sure to be depended on and very sweet to be delight in. 4. Those that resist God, and walk contrary to him, shall find that he will resist them, and walk contrary to them, Lev 26:21, Lev 26:24. III. Hence he speaks comfort to the humble ("Thou wilt save the afflicted people, that are wronged and bear it patiently"), terror to the proud ("Thou wilt bring down high looks, that aim high, and look with scorn and disdain upon the poor and pious"), and encouragement to himself - "Thou wilt light my candle, that is, thou wilt revive and comfort my sorrowful spirit, and not leave me melancholy; thou wilt recover me out of my troubles and restore me to peace and prosperity; thou wilt make my honour bright, which is now eclipsed; thou wilt guide my way, and make it plain before me, that I may avoid the snares laid for me; thou wilt light my candle to work by, and give me an opportunity of serving thee and the interests of thy kingdom among men." Let those that walk in darkness, and labour under many discouragements in singing these verses, encourage themselves that God himself will be a light to them.”

“For I have kept the ways of the Lord,.... Not those which the Lord himself walks in, his ways of providence, or of grace; though these are and should be taken notice of and observed by good men, as the word (y) used will bear to be rendered; but the ways which he has prescribed and directed men to walk in, the ways of his commandments, in which they should go; these were, in some measure, kept by David, who often, in the hundred nineteenth psalm speaks of his keeping the testimonies and statutes, and commandments of the Lord; as they are by good men, with some degree of pleasure, they take delight to walk in them; and with some degree of constancy, they keep walking in them, without turning to the right hand or the left, though solicited to it; but yet not perfectly, for they have many a slip and fall in them; wherefore this cannot be a reason of their being rewarded according to their righteousness: in strict justice, the words better agree with Christ, who kept the law of God perfectly, did his will completely; he came from heaven to do it; it was his meat and drink to accomplish it; and he always did the things which pleased his father, wherefore he rewarded him; and have not wickedly departed from my God; which was, in some sense, true of David; not as by disbelieving the power and providence, the promises, truth, and faithfulness of God, and his covenant interest in him; which to do would have been a wicked departure from God; see Heb 3:12; nor by forsaking the house and worship of God; though he was driven from thence by wicked men, yet sore against his will, and which during his exile he frequently laments and complains of; nor by sinning wilfully and presumptuously, only through error, inadvertency, infirmity, and temptation: but when it is observed, how much unbelief, which is a partial departing from the living God, and how many there are that neglect private and public worship, and what a proneness there is to sin and wickedness, and how much there is of the will in sinful actions, in the best of men; it is right and best to understand this of Christ, who never was guilty of sin, nor committed any wickedness in departing from God in the least: as man, God was his God, and he always believed his interest in him, and claimed it even when he forsook him on the cross; nor did he quit his service, desert his cause, nor depart from the work and business he enjoined him, till it was finished. (y) "observaveram", Tigurine version, Vatablus; "observo", Junius & Tremellius; "observavi", Gejerus, Michaelis; so Ainsworth.”

“The statements of innocence, righteousness, &c., refer, doubtless, to his personal and official conduct and his purposes, during all the trials to which he was subjected in Saul's persecutions and Absalom's rebellions, as well as the various wars in which he had been engaged as the head and defender of God's Church and people.”

“(Heb.: 18:21-24) On גּמל (like שׁלּם with the accusative not merely of the thing, but also of the person, e.g., Sa1 24:18), εὐ or κακῶς πράττειν τινά, vid., on Psa 7:5. שׁמר, to observe = to keep, is used in the same way in Job 22:15. רשׁע מן is a pregnant expression of the malitiosa desertio. "From God's side," i.e., in His judgment, would be contrary to the general usage of the language (for the מן in Job 4:17 has a different meaning) and would be but a chilling addition. On the poetical form מנּי, in pause מנּי, vid., Ew. 263, b. The fut. in Psa 18:23, close after the substantival clause Psa 18:23, is not intended of the habit in the past, but at the present time: he has not wickedly forsaken God, but (כּי = imo, sed) always has God's commandments present before him as his rule of conduct, and has not put them far away out of his sight, in order to be able to sin with less compunction; and thus then (fut. consec.) in relation (עם, as in Deu 18:13, cf. Sa2 23:5) to God he was תמים, with his whole soul undividedly devoted to Him, and he guarded himself against his iniquity (עון, from עוה, Arab. 'wâ, to twist, pervert, cf. Arab. gwâ, of error, delusion, self-enlightenment), i.e., not: against acquiescence in his in-dwelling sin, but: against iniquity becoming in any way his own; מעוני equivalent to מעותי (Dan 9:5), cf. מחיּי = than that I should live, Jon 4:8. In this strophe, this Psalm strikes a cord that harmonises with Psa 17:1-15, after which it is therefore placed. We may compare David's own testimony concerning himself in Sa1 26:23., the testimony of God in Kg1 14:8, and the testimony of history in Kg1 15:5; Kg1 11:4.”