Historical chapter commentary
Verse 1. On the, and so forth is not in Hebrew nor Euseb. and so forth It means Sunday, (Saint Ambrose Worthington.) or rather Monday, being sung on that day. Saint Jerome and so forth Bible.—The subject of the former canticle is continued, in thanksgiving to God, for some signal victory, or for the peace which God afforded to his people, after the death of Cambyses. Calmet.—The Fathers explain it of the propagation and peace of the Church. Bible.
Verse 2. City, or temple, which lay to the north of old Jerusalem, on Sion. Calmet.—Yet Genebrard, and so forth place this mountain south of Salem. Menochius.—The concourse of priests and people gave the appearance of a great city. Ezekiel 40:2. Isaiah 14:13.—The Church is built upon a rock. Calmet.—The Jews and Christians are under the greatest obligation of praising God. Worthington.
Verse 3. With. Hebrew “the beautiful situation, the joy of the whole earth, ( Menochius.) Sion, sides of,” and so forth Chal. “Sion, thou art beautiful as a bride.” Christ’s Church is thus described. Revelation 21:2. Calmet.—Its figure, ( Bible.) the temple, was the glory of the whole country. Psalms 25:8. Lamentations 2:15. Calmet.—But the Church alone extends to the sides of the north, or over the world. Worthington.
Verse 4. Houses. Hebrew “palaces;” Septuagint “towers.” Βαρεσι, a word which has again been mistaken for gravibus or gradibus, as verse 14 and Psalms 44:9. God is the defence of his people, (Proverbs 18:10) the Church, Matthew 16:18. Calmet.—All particular houses, or churches, must come to the unity of faith, ( Worthington.) and to the seat of Peter. S. Iræn. iii.
Verse 5. Earth is superfluous. Saint Jerome ad Sun. Calmet.—Yet it is found in the Vat. Septuagint and so forth Bible.—The kings of the earth assembled against the Church, (Psalms 2:2) as many came to oppose Jerusalem, under Cambyses. Ezekiel 28:2. 13. Calmet.
Verse 6. Saw. They could not say, like Cæsar, Veni, vidi, vici. For they no sooner came to invade the unsuspecting people, than they began to tremble. Ezekiel 38:11. and so forth Psalms 45:7. Bible.
Verse 7. There, denotes the promptitude of vengeance, as well as the following allusion. Isaiah 13:8. 1 Thes. 5:3.
Verse 8. Vehement. Hebrew “eastern.”—Tharsis, such strong-built ships, as might go to Tarsus, in Cilicia, (Genesis 10:4. Calmet.) or to India. Menochius.—The merchants of Tharsis, the naval officers, shall say, and so forth There shall be a great commotion, and so forth Ezekiel 38:13. 19.—The same storm proved fatal to the land and sea-forces of Cambyses. His navy is mentioned by Herodotus, (iii. 11. and 44.) and was probably stationed over against Acco, or Ptolemais, as the king perished at the foot of Carmel. Calmet.—Nothing maketh a deeper impression than the sentiments of religion. God’s grace enableth the soul to sustain all conflicts, and to overcome. Worthington.
Verse 9. Seen. All the promises have been fulfilled. How could any one have thought that we should have been permitted to dedicate this temple under the patronage of the king of Persia? (1 Ezra 6:8.) Who would not have feared, lest the Christian religion should perish, under such violent persecutions? Converts admire its beauty and strength. Calmet.—The completion of the prophecies is a wonderful confirmation and comfort of Christians, ( Worthington.) whose faith is founded indeed for ever. Bible.—The gates of hell shall not prevail. Menochius.
Verse 10. Temple. Ναου. Septuagint Saint Ambrose and so forth though the Vat. and Alex. copies have Λαου, “people,” with the Arab. Ethiop. Saint Augustine and so forth Bible.—In the Church we receive many graces, ( Calmet.) even Christ himself, (Saint Ambrose) to which those who refuse to be Catholics, can have no title. Worthington.
Verse 11. Earth. all who hear of the wonders of God, must praise him; and who can be ignorant of what He has done, ( Calmet.) in the defeat of the enemies of his people, ( Bible.) of Sennacherib, Cambyses, and so forth? Yet all the earth will be instructed only by the propagation of the Gospel. Calmet.—Justice, against thy enemies, ( Bible.) though this word may here imply “mercy,” in opposition to the judgments, verse 12. Calmet.—These perfections are never at variance. Worthington.
Verse 12. Juda. Septuagint Sym. and so forth have “Judea,” ( Calmet.) which would intimate, that the psalm was composed after the captivity. But the Hebrew reads Yehuda, “Juda,” with S. Jerom. Bible.
Verse 13. Surround. Hebrew “walk round, ( Bible.) tell her towers.” Saint Jerome
Verse 14. Strength. Perhaps the outward wall, (Ezekiel 40:5) not seen in Solomon’s temple.—Houses. Hebrew “palaces.” Septuagint “houses built like towers.” Βαρεις. Jerusalem was not rebuilt or fortified, when the second temple was dedicated. 2 Ezra 1:3. Calmet.—The fortresses of the Church are the holy Fathers and Doctors, who watch in her defence. Her pillars shall not fail. The particular Churches are all united in the same faith, and these reflections ought to prevail on all to embrace the same. Worthington.
Verse 15. Our God. Christ incarnate works all this. He shall rule over the Church, not for three or four hundred years only, but as long as time shall last, and He shall have a Church triumphant in eternity. Worthington.—Evermore. Hebrew hal-moth. The letters being differently arranged, are rendered, “in death.” Saint Jerome “even unto death.” Prot. ( Bible.) “in youth,” (Chal.) or “in the secret” of Providence. It may form a part of the following title, “over the young women,” as Psalms 9 and 45. Calmet.—But then it would probably come after lamnatseach. The psalmist inculcates the perpetual duration of the Church under God’s conduct, by three terms. In sæculum & ultra … usque ad mortem, “till death,” (Pagn.) or “incessantly.” Sym. Bible.—This psalm may also express the sentiments of a penitent, (Bert.) or of one who is put in possession of unchangeable felicity. Bible.