88:6. The heavens shall confess thy wonders, O Lord: and thy truth in the church of the saints.
88:7. For who in the clouds can be compared to the Lord: or who among the sons of God shall be like to God?
88:8. God, who is glorified in the assembly of the saints: great and terrible above all them that are about him.
88:9. O Lord God of hosts, who is like to thee? thou art mighty, O Lord, and thy truth is round about thee.
88:10. Thou rulest the power of the sea: and appeasest the motion of the waves thereof.
88:11. Thou hast humbled the proud one, as one that is slain: with the arm of thy strength thou hast scattered thy enemies.
88:12. Thine are the heavens, and thine is the earth: the world and the fulness thereof thou hast founded:
88:13. The north and the sea thou hast created. Thabor and Hermon shall rejoice in thy name:
88:14. Thy arm is with might. Let thy hand be strengthened, and thy right hand exalted:
88:15. Justice and judgment are the preparation of thy throne. Mercy and truth shall go before thy face:
88:16. Blessed is the people that knoweth jubilation. They shall walk, O Lord, in the light of thy countenance:
88:17. And in thy name they shall rejoice all the day, and in thy justice they shall be exalted.
88:18. For thou art the glory of their strength: and in thy good pleasure shall our horn be exalted.
88:19. For our protection is of the Lord, and of our king the holy one of Israel.
88:20. Then thou spokest in a vision to thy saints, and saidst: I have laid help upon one that is mighty, and have exalted one chosen out of my people.
88:21. I have found David my servant: with my holy oil I have anointed him.
88:22. For my hand shall help him: and my arm shall strengthen him.
88:23. The enemy shall have no advantage over him: nor the son of iniquity have power to hurt him.
88:24. And I will cut down his enemies before his face; and them that hate him I will put to flight.
88:25. And my truth and my mercy shall be with him: and in my name shall his horn be exalted.
88:26. And I will set his hand in the sea; and his right hand in the rivers.
88:27. He shall cry out to me: Thou art my father: my God, and the support of my salvation.
88:28. And I will make him my firstborn, high above the kings of the earth.
88:29. I will keep my mercy for him for ever: and my covenant faithful to him.
88:30. And I will make his seed to endure for evermore: and his throne as the days of heaven.
88:31. And if his children forsake my law, and walk not in my judgments:
88:32. If they profane my justices: and keep not my commandments:
88:33. I will visit their iniquities with a rod and their sins with stripes.
88:34. But my mercy I will not take away from him: nor will I suffer my truth to fail.
88:35. Neither will I profane my covenant: and the words that proceed from my mouth I will not make void.
88:36. Once have I sworn by my holiness: I will not lie unto David:
88:37. His seed shall endure for ever.
88:38. And his throne as the sun before me: and as the moon perfect for ever, and a faithful witness in heaven.
88:39. But thou hast rejected and despised: thou hast been angry with my anointed.
88:40. Thou hast overthrown the covenant of thy servant: thou hast profaned his sanctuary on the earth.
Overthrown the covenant, etc... All this seems to relate to the time of the captivity of Babylon, in which, for the sins of the people and their princes, God seemed to have set aside for a while the covenant he made with David.
88:41. Thou hast broken down all his hedges: thou hast made his strength fear.
88:42. All that pass by the way have robbed him: he is become a reproach to his neighbours.
88:43. Thou hast set up the right hand of them that oppress him: thou hast made all his enemies to rejoice.
88:44. Thou hast turned away the help of his sword; and hast not assisted him in battle.
88:45. Thou hast made his purification to cease: and thou hast cast his throne down to the ground.
88:46. Thou hast shortened the days of his time: thou hast covered him with confusion.
88:47. How long, O Lord, turnest thou away unto the end? shall thy anger burn like fire?
88:48. Remember what my substance is: for hast thou made all the children of men in vain?
88:49. Who is the man that shall live, and not see death: that shall deliver his soul from the hand of hell?
88:50. Lord, where are thy ancient mercies, according to what thou didst swear to David in thy truth?
88:51. Be mindful, O Lord, of the reproach of thy servants (which I have held in my bosom) of many nations:
88:52. Wherewith thy enemies have reproached, O Lord; wherewith they have reproached the change of thy anointed.
88:53. Blessed be the Lord for evermore. So be it. So be it.
Psalms Chapter 89
Domine, refugium.
A prayer for the mercy of God: recounting the shortness and miseries of the days of man.
89:1. A prayer of Moses the man of God. Lord, thou hast been our refuge from generation to generation.
89:2. Before the mountains were made, or the earth and the world was formed; from eternity and to eternity thou art God.
89:3. Turn not man away to be brought low: and thou hast said: Be converted, O ye sons of men.
Turn not man away, etc... Suffer him not quite to perish from thee, since thou art pleased to call upon him to be converted to thee.
89:4. For a thousand years in thy sight are as yesterday, which is past. And as a watch in the night,
89:5. Things that are counted nothing, shall their years be.
89:6. In the morning man shall grow up like grass; in the morning he shall flourish and pass away: in the evening he shall fall, grow dry, and wither.
89:7. For in thy wrath we have fainted away: and are troubled in thy indignation.
89:8. Thou hast set our iniquities before thy eyes: our life in the light of thy countenance.
89:9. For all our days are spent; and in thy wrath we have fainted away. Our years shall be considered as a spider:
As a spider... As frail and weak as a spider's web; and miserable withal, whilst like a spider we spend our bowels in weaving webs to catch flies.
89:10. The days of our years in them are threescore and ten years. But if in the strong they be fourscore years: and what is more of them is labour and sorrow. For mildness is come upon us: and we shall be corrected.
Mildness is come upon us, etc... God's mildness corrects us; inasmuch as he deals kindly with us, in shortening the days of this miserable life; and so weaning our affections from all its transitory enjoyments, and teaching us true wisdom.
89:11. Who knoweth the power of thy anger, and for thy fear
89:12. Can number thy wrath? So make thy right hand known: and men learned in heart, in wisdom.
89:13. Return, O Lord, how long? and be entreated in favour of thy servants.
89:14. We are filled in the morning with thy mercy: and we have rejoiced, and are delighted all our days.
89:15. We have rejoiced for the days in which thou hast humbled us: for the years in which we have seen evils.
89:16. Look upon thy servants and upon their works: and direct their children.
89:17. And let the brightness of the Lord our God be upon us: and direct thou the works of our hands over us; yea, the work of our hands do thou direct.
Psalms Chapter 90
Qui habitat.
The just is secure under the protection of God.
90:1. The praise of a canticle for David. He that dwelleth in the aid of the most High, shall abide under the protection of the God of Jacob.
90:2. He shall say to the Lord: Thou art my protector, and my refuge: my God, in him will I trust.
90:3. For he hath delivered me from the snare of the hunters: and from the sharp word.
90:4. He will overshadow thee with his shoulders: and under his wings thou shalt trust.
90:5. His truth shall compass thee with a shield: thou shalt not be afraid of the terror of the night.
90:6. Of the arrow that flieth in the day, of the business that walketh about in the dark: of invasion, or of the noonday devil.
90:7. A thousand shall fall at thy side, and ten thousand at thy right hand: but it shall not come nigh thee.
90:8. But thou shalt consider with thy eyes: and shalt see the reward of the wicked.
90:9. Because thou, O Lord, art my hope: thou hast made the most High thy refuge.
90:10. There shall no evil come to thee: nor shall the scourge come near thy dwelling.
90:11. For he hath given his angels charge over thee; to keep thee in all thy ways.
90:12. In their hands they shall bear thee up: lest thou dash thy foot against a stone.
90:13. Thou shalt walk upon the asp and the basilisk: and thou shalt trample under foot the lion and the dragon.
90:14. Because he hoped in me I will deliver him: I will protect him because he hath known my name.
90:15. He shall cry to me, and I will hear him: I am with him in tribulation, I will deliver him, and I will glorify him.
90:16. I will fill him with length of days; and I will shew him my salvation.
Psalms Chapter 91
Bonum est confiteri.
God is to be praised for his wondrous works.
91:1. A psalm of a canticle on the sabbath day.
91:2. It is good to give praise to the Lord: and to sing to thy name, O most High.
91:3. To shew forth thy mercy in the morning, and thy truth in the night:
91:4. Upon an instrument of ten strings, upon the psaltery: with a canticle upon the harp.
91:5. For thou hast given me, O Lord, a delight in thy doings: and in the works of thy hands I shall rejoice.
91:6. O Lord, how great are thy works! thy thoughts are exceeding deep.
91:7. The senseless man shall not know: nor will the fool understand these things.
91:8. When the wicked shall spring up as grass: and all the workers of iniquity shall appear: That they may perish for ever and ever:
91:9. But thou, O Lord, art most high for evermore.
91:10. For behold thy enemies, O lord, for behold thy enemies shall perish: and all the workers of iniquity shall be scattered.
91:11. But my horn shall be exalted like that of the unicorn: and my old age in plentiful mercy.
91:12. My eye also hath looked down upon my enemies: and my ear shall hear of the downfall of the malignant that rise up against me.
91:13. The just shall flourish like the palm tree: he shall grow up like the cedar of Libanus.
91:14. They that are planted in the house of the Lord shall flourish in the courts of the house of our God.
91:15. They shall still increase in a fruitful old age: and shall be well treated,
91:16. That they may shew, That the Lord our God is righteous, and there is no iniquity in him.
Psalms Chapter 92
Dominus regnavit.
The glory and stability of the kingdom; that is, of the church of Christ.
Praise in the way of a canticle, for David himself, on the day before the sabbath, when the earth was founded.
92:1. The Lord hath reigned, he is clothed with beauty: the Lord is clothed with strength, and hath girded himself. For he hath established the world which shall not be moved.
92:2. My throne is prepared from of old: thou art from everlasting.
92:3. The floods have lifted up, O Lord: the floods have lifted up their voice. The floods have lifted up their waves,
92:4. With the noise of many waters. Wonderful are the surges of the sea: wonderful is the Lord on high.
92:5. Thy testimonies are become exceedingly credible: holiness becometh thy house, O Lord, unto length of days.
Psalms Chapter 93
Deus ultionum.
God shall judge and punish the oppressors of his people.
A psalm for David himself on the fourth day of the week.
93:1. The Lord is the God to whom revenge belongeth: the God of revenge hath acted freely.
93:2. Lift up thyself, thou that judgest the earth: render a reward to the proud.
93:3. How long shall sinners, O Lord: how long shall sinners glory?
93:4. Shall they utter, and speak iniquity: shall all speak who work injustice?
93:5. Thy people, O Lord, they have brought low: and they have afflicted thy inheritance.
93:6. They have slain the widow and the stranger: and they have murdered the fatherless.
93:7. And they have said: The Lord shall not see: neither shall the God of Jacob understand.
93:8. Understand, ye senseless among the people: and, you fools, be wise at last.
93:9. He that planted the ear, shall he not hear? or he that formed the eye, doth he not consider?
93:10. He that chastiseth nations, shall he not rebuke: he that teacheth man knowledge?
93:11. The Lord knoweth the thoughts of men, that they are vain.
93:12. Blessed is the man whom thou shalt instruct, O Lord: and shalt teach him out of thy law.
93:13. That thou mayst give him rest from the evil days: till a pit be dug for the wicked.
Rest from the evil days... That thou mayst mitigate the sorrows, to which he is exposed, during the short and evil days of his mortality.
93:14. For the Lord will not cast off his people: neither will he forsake his own inheritance.
93:15. Until justice be turned into judgment: and they that are near it are all the upright in heart.
Until justice be turned into judgment, etc... By being put in execution; which will be agreeable to all the upright in heart.
93:16. Who shall rise up for me against the evildoers? or who shall stand with me against the workers of iniquity?
93:17. Unless the Lord had been my helper, my soul had almost dwelt in hell.
93:18. If I said: My foot is moved: thy mercy, O Lord, assisted me.
93:19. According to the multitude of my sorrows in my heart, thy comforts have given joy to my soul.
93:20. Doth the seat of iniquity stick to thee, who framest labour in commandment?
Doth the seat of iniquity stick to thee, etc... That is, wilt thou, O God, who art always just, admit of the seat of iniquity: that is, of injustice, or unjust judges, to have any partnership with thee? Thou who framest, or makest, labour in commandment, that is, thou who obligest us to labour with all diligence to keep thy commandments.
93:21. They will hunt after the soul of the just, and will condemn innocent blood.
93:22. But the Lord is my refuge: and my God the help of my hope.
93:23. And he will render them their iniquity: and in their malice he will destroy them: the Lord our God will destroy them.
Psalms Chapter 94
Venite exultemus.
An invitation to adore and serve God, and to hear his voice.
Praise of a canticle for David himself.
94:1. Come let us praise the Lord with joy: let us joyfully sing to God our saviour.
94:2. Let us come before his presence with thanksgiving; and make a joyful noise to him with psalms.
94:3. For the Lord is a great God, and a great King above all gods.
94:4. For in his hand are all the ends of the earth: and the heights of the mountains are his.
94:5. For the sea is his, and he made it: and his hands formed the dry land.
94:6. Come let us adore and fall down: and weep before the Lord that made us.
94:7. For he is the Lord our God: and we are the people of his pasture and the sheep of his hand.
94:8. To day if you shall hear his voice, harden not your hearts:
94:9. As in the provocation, according to the day of temptation in the wilderness: where your fathers tempted me, they proved me, and saw my works.
94:10. Forty years long was I offended with that generation, and I said: These always err in heart.
94:11. And these men have not known my ways: so I swore in my wrath that they shall not enter into my rest.
Psalms Chapter 95
Cantate Domino.
An exhortation to praise God for the coming of Christ and his kingdom.
95:1. A canticle for David himself, when the house was built after the captivity. Sing ye to the Lord a new canticle: sing to the Lord, all the earth.
When the house was built, etc... Alluding to that time, and then ordered to be sung: but principally relating to the building of the church of Christ, after our redemption from the captivity of Satan.
95:2. Sing ye to the Lord and bless his name: shew forth his salvation from day to day.
95:3. Declare his glory among the Gentiles: his wonders among all people.
95:4. For the Lord is great, and exceedingly to be praised: he is to be feared above all gods.
95:5. For all the gods of the Gentiles are devils: but the Lord made the heavens.
95:6. Praise and beauty are before him: holiness and majesty in his sanctuary.
95:7. Bring ye to the Lord, O ye kindreds of the Gentiles, bring ye to the Lord glory and honour:
95:8. Bring to the Lord glory unto his name. Bring up sacrifices, and come into his courts:
95:9. Adore ye the Lord in his holy court. Let all the earth be moved at his presence.
95:10. Say ye among the Gentiles, the Lord hath reigned. For he hath corrected the world, which shall not be moved: he will judge the people with justice.
95:11. Let the heavens rejoice, and let the earth be glad, let the sea be moved, and the fulness thereof:
95:12. The fields and all things that are in them shall be joyful. Then shall all the trees of the woods rejoice
95:13. before the face of the Lord, because he cometh: because he cometh to judge the earth. He shall judge the world with justice, and the people with his truth.
Psalms Chapter 96
Dominus regnavit.
All are invited to rejoice at the glorious coming and reign of Christ.
96:1. For the same David, when his land was restored again to him. The Lord hath reigned, let the earth rejoice: let many islands be glad.
96:2. Clouds and darkness are round about him: justice and judgment are the establishment of his throne.
Clouds and darkness... The coming of Christ in the clouds with great terror and majesty to judge the world, is here prophesied.
96:3. A fire shall go before him, and shall burn his enemies round about.
96:4. His lightnings have shone forth to the world: the earth saw and trembled.
96:5. The mountains melted like wax, at the presence of the Lord: at the presence of the Lord of all the earth.
96:6. The heavens declared his justice: and all people saw his glory.
96:7. Let them be all confounded that adore graven things, and that glory in their idols. Adore him, all you his angels:
96:8. Sion heard, and was glad. And the daughters of Juda rejoiced, because of thy judgments, O Lord.
96:9. For thou art the most high Lord over all the earth: thou art exalted exceedingly above all gods.
96:10. You that love the Lord, hate evil: the Lord preserveth the souls of his saints, he will deliver them out of the hand of the sinner.
96:11. Light is risen to the just, and joy to the right of heart.
96:12. Rejoice, ye just, in the Lord: and give praise to the remembrance of his holiness.
Psalms Chapter 97
Cantate Domino.
All are again invited to praise the Lord, for the victories of Christ.
97:1. A psalm for David himself. Sing ye to the Lord a new canticle: because he hath done wonderful things. His right hand hath wrought for him salvation, and his arm is holy.
97:2. The Lord hath made known his salvation: he hath revealed his justice in the sight of the Gentiles.
97:3. He hath remembered his mercy and his truth toward the house of Israel. All the ends of the earth have seen the salvation of our God.
97:4. Sing joyfully to God, all the earth; make melody, rejoice and sing.
97:5. Sing praise to the Lord on the harp, on the harp, and with the voice of a psalm:
97:6. With long trumpets, and sound of cornet. Make a joyful noise before the Lord our king:
97:7. Let the sea be moved and the fullness thereof: the world and they that dwell therein.
97:8. The rivers shall clap their hands, the mountains shall rejoice together
97:9. At the presence of the Lord: because he cometh to judge the earth. He shall judge the world with justice, and the people with equity.
Psalms Chapter 98
Dominus regnavit.
The reign of the Lord in Sion: that is, of Christ in his church.
98:1. A psalm for David himself. The Lord hath reigned, let the people be angry: he that sitteth on the cherubims: let the earth be moved.
Let the people be angry... Though many enemies rage, and the whole earth be stirred up to oppose the reign of Christ, he shall still prevail.
98:2. The lord is great in Sion, and high above all people.
98:3. Let them give praise to thy great name: for it is terrible and holy:
98:4. And the king's honour loveth judgment. Thou hast prepared directions: thou hast done judgment and justice in Jacob.
Loveth judgment... Requireth discretion.-Ibid. Directions... Most right and just laws to direct men.
98:5. Exalt ye the Lord our God, and adore his footstool, for it is holy.
Adore his footstool... The ark of the covenant was called, in the Old Testament, God's footstool: over which he was understood to sit, on his propitiatory, or mercy seat, as on a throne, between the wings of the cherubims, in the sanctuary: to which the children of Israel paid a great veneration. But as this psalm evidently relates to Christ, and the New Testament, where the ark has no place, the holy fathers understand this text, of the worship paid by the church to the body and blood of Christ in the sacred mysteries: inasmuch as the humanity of Christ is, as it were, the footstool of the divinity. So St. Ambrose, L. 3. De Spiritu Sancto, c. 12. And St. Augustine upon this psalm.
98:6. Moses and Aaron among his priests: and Samuel among them that call upon his name. They called upon the Lord, and he heard them:
Moses and Aaron among his priests... By this it is evident, that Moses also was a priest, and indeed the chief priest, inasmuch as he consecrated Aaron, and offered sacrifice for him. Lev. 8. So that his pre-eminence over Aaron makes nothing for lay church headship.
98:7. He spoke to them in the pillar of the cloud. They kept his testimonies, and the commandment which he gave them.
98:8. Thou didst hear them, O Lord our God: thou wast a merciful God to them, and taking vengeance on all their inventions.
All their inventions... that is, all the enterprises of their enemies against them, as in the case of Core, Dathan, and Abiron.
98:9. Exalt ye the Lord our God, and adore at his holy mountain: for the Lord our God is holy.
Psalms Chapter 99
Jubilate Deo.
All are invited to rejoice in God the creator of all.
99:1. A psalm of praise.
99:2. Sing joyfully to God, all the earth: serve ye the Lord with gladness. Come in before his presence with exceeding great joy.
99:3. Know ye that the Lord he is God: he made us, and not we ourselves. We are his people and the sheep of his pasture.
99:4. Go ye into his gates with praise, into his courts with hymns: and give glory to him. Praise ye his name:
99:5. For the Lord is sweet, his mercy endureth for ever, and his truth to generation and generation.
Psalms Chapter 100
Misericordiam et judicium.
The prophet exhorteth all by his example, to follow mercy and justice.
100:1. A psalm for David himself. Mercy and judgment I will sing to thee, O Lord: I will sing,
100:2. And I will understand in the unspotted way, when thou shalt come to me. I walked in the innocence of my heart, in the midst of my house.
I will understand, etc... That is, I will apply my mind, I will do my endeavour, to know and to follow the perfect way of thy commandments: not trusting to my own strength, but relying on thy coming to me by thy grace.
100:3. I will not set before my eyes any unjust thing: I hated the workers of iniquities.
100:4. The perverse heart did not cleave to me: and the malignant, that turned aside from me, I would not know.
100:5. The man that in private detracted his neighbour, him did I persecute. With him that had a proud eye, and an unsatiable heart, I would not eat.
100:6. My eyes were upon the faithful of the earth, to sit with me: the man that walked in the perfect way, he served me.
100:7. He that worketh pride shall not dwell in the midst of my house: he that speaketh unjust things did not prosper before my eyes.
100:8. In the morning I put to death all the wicked of the land: that I might cut off all the workers of iniquity from the city of the Lord.
Psalms Chapter 101
Domine, exaudi.
A prayer for one in affliction: the fifth penitential psalm.
101:1. The prayer of the poor man, when he was anxious, and poured out his supplication before the Lord.
101:2. Hear, O Lord, my prayer: and let my cry come to thee.
101:3. Turn not away thy face from me: in the day when I am in trouble, incline thy ear to me. In what day soever I shall call upon thee, hear me speedily.
101:4. For my days are vanished like smoke, and my bones are grown dry like fuel for the fire.
101:5. I am smitten as grass, and my heart is withered: because I forgot to eat my bread.
101:6. Through the voice of my groaning, my bone hath cleaved to my flesh.
101:7. I am become like to a pelican of the wilderness: I am like a night raven in the house.
A pelican, etc... I am become through grief, like birds that affect solitude and darkness.
101:8. I have watched, and am become as a sparrow all alone on the housetop.
101:9. All the day long my enemies reproached me: and they that praised me did swear against me.
101:10. For I did eat ashes like bread, and mingled my drink with weeping.
101:11. Because of thy anger and indignation: for having lifted me up thou hast thrown me down.
101:12. My days have declined like a shadow, and I am withered like grass.
101:13. But thou, O Lord, endurest for ever: and thy memorial to all generations.
101:14. Thou shalt arise and have mercy on Sion: for it is time to have mercy on it, for the time is come.
101:15. For the stones thereof have pleased thy servants: and they shall have pity on the earth thereof.
101:16. All the Gentiles shall fear thy name, O Lord, and all the kings of the earth thy glory.
101:17. For the Lord hath built up Sion: and he shall be seen in his glory.
101:18. He hath had regard to the prayer of the humble: and he hath not despised their petition.
101:19. Let these things be written unto another generation: and the people that shall be created shall praise the Lord:
101:20. Because he hath looked forth from his high sanctuary: from heaven the Lord hath looked upon the earth.
101:21. That he might hear the groans of them that are in fetters: that he might release the children of the slain:
101:22. That they may declare the name of the Lord in Sion: and his praise in Jerusalem;
101:23. When the people assemble together, and kings, to serve the Lord.
101:24. He answered him in the way of his strength: Declare unto me the fewness of my days.
He answered him in the way of his strength... That is, the people, mentioned in the foregoing verse, or the penitent, in whose person this psalm is delivered, answered the Lord in the way of his strength: that is, according to the best of his power and strength: or when he was in the flower of his age and strength: inquiring after the fewness of his days: to know if he should live long enough to see the happy restoration of Sion, etc.
101:25. Call me not away in the midst of my days: thy years are unto generation and generation.
101:26. In the beginning, O Lord, thou foundedst the earth: and the heavens are the works of thy hands.
101:27. They shall perish but thou remainest: and all of them shall grow old like a garment: And as a vesture thou shalt change them, and they shall be changed.
101:28. But thou art always the selfsame, and thy years shall not fail.
101:29. The children of thy servants shall continue and their seed shall be directed for ever.
Psalms Chapter 102
Benedic, anima.
Thanksgiving to God for his mercies.
102:1. For David himself. Bless the Lord, O my soul: and let all that is within me bless his holy name.
102:2. Bless the Lord, O my soul, and never forget all he hath done for thee.
102:3. Who forgiveth all thy iniquities: who healeth all thy diseases.
102:4. Who redeemeth thy life from destruction: who crowneth thee with mercy and compassion.
102:5. Who satisfieth thy desire with good things: thy youth shall be renewed like the eagle's.
102:6. The Lord doth mercies, and judgment for all that suffer wrong.
102:7. He hath made his ways known to Moses: his wills to the children of Israel.
102:8. The Lord is compassionate and merciful: longsuffering and plenteous in mercy.
102:9. He will not always be angry: nor will he threaten for ever.
102:10. He hath not dealt with us according to our sins: nor rewarded us according to our iniquities.
102:11. For according to the height of the heaven above the earth: he hath strengthened his mercy towards them that fear him.
102:12. As far as the east is from the west, so far hath he removed our iniquities from us.
102:13. As a father hath compassion on his children, so hath the Lord compassion on them that fear him:
102:14. For he knoweth our frame. He remembereth that we are dust:
102:15. Man's days are as grass, as the flower of the field so shall he flourish.
102:16. For the spirit shall pass in him, and he shall not be: and he shall know his place no more.
102:17. But the mercy of the Lord is from eternity and unto eternity upon them that fear him: And his justice unto children's children,
102:18. To such as keep his covenant, And are mindful of his commandments to do them.
102:19. The lord hath prepared his throne in heaven: and his kingdom shall rule over all.
102:20. Bless the Lord, all ye his angels: you that are mighty in strength, and execute his word, hearkening to the voice of his orders.
102:21. Bless the Lord, all ye his hosts: you ministers of his that do his will.
102:22. Bless the Lord, all his works: in every place of his dominion, O my soul, bless thou the Lord.
Psalms Chapter 103
Benedic, anima.
God is to be praised for his mighty works, and wonderful providence.
103:1. For David himself. Bless the Lord, O my soul: O Lord my God, thou art exceedingly great. Thou hast put on praise and beauty:
103:2. And art clothed with light as with a garment. Who stretchest out the heaven like a pavilion:
103:3. Who coverest the higher rooms thereof with water. Who makest the clouds thy chariot: who walkest upon the wings of the winds.
103:4. Who makest thy angels spirits: and thy ministers a burning fire.
103:5. Who hast founded the earth upon its own bases: it shall not be moved for ever and ever.
103:6. The deep like a garment is its clothing: above the mountains shall the waters stand.
103:7. At thy rebuke they shall flee: at the voice of thy thunder they shall fear.
103:8. The mountains ascend, and the plains descend into the place which thou hast founded for them.
103:9. Thou hast set a bound which they shall not pass over; neither shall they return to cover the earth.
103:10. Thou sendest forth springs in the vales: between the midst of the hills the waters shall pass.
103:11. All the beasts of the field shall drink: the wild asses shall expect in their thirst.
103:12. Over them the birds of the air shall dwell: from the midst of the rocks they shall give forth their voices.
103:13. Thou waterest the hills from thy upper rooms: the earth shall be filled with the fruit of thy works:
103:14. Bringing forth grass for cattle, and herb for the service of men. That thou mayst bring bread out of the earth:
103:15. And that wine may cheer the heart of man. That he may make the face cheerful with oil: and that bread may strengthen man's heart.
103:16. The trees of the field shall be filled, and the cedars of Libanus which he hath planted:
103:17. There the sparrows shall make their nests. The highest of them is the house of the heron.
103:18. The high hills are a refuge for the harts, the rock for the irchins.
103:19. He hath made the moon for seasons: the sun knoweth his going down.
103:20. Thou hast appointed darkness, and it is night: in it shall all the beasts of the woods go about:
103:21. The young lions roaring after their prey, and seeking their meat from God.
103:22. The sun ariseth, and they are gathered together: and they shall lie down in their dens.
103:23. Man shall go forth to his work, and to his labour until the evening.
103:24. How great are thy works, O Lord? thou hast made all things in wisdom: the earth is filled with thy riches.
103:25. So is this great sea, which stretcheth wide its arms: there are creeping things without number: Creatures little and great.
103:26. There the ships shall go. This sea dragon which thou hast formed to play therein.
103:27. All expect of thee that thou give them food in season.
103:28. What thou givest to them they shall gather up: when thou openest thy hand, they shall all be filled with good.
103:29. But if thou turnest away thy face, they shall be troubled: thou shalt take away their breath, and they shall fail, and shall return to their dust.
103:30. Thou shalt send forth thy spirit, and they shall be created: and thou shalt renew the face of the earth.
103:31. May the glory of the Lord endure for ever: the Lord shall rejoice in his works.
103:32. He looketh upon the earth, and maketh it tremble: he troubleth the mountains, and they smoke.
103:33. I will sing to the Lord as long as I live: I will sing praise to my God while I have my being.
103:34. Let my speech be acceptable to him: but I will take delight in the Lord.
103:35. Let sinners be consumed out of the earth, and the unjust, so that they be no more: O my soul, bless thou the Lord.
Psalms Chapter 104
Confitemini Domino.
A thanksgiving to God for his benefits to his people Israel.
Alleluia.
104:1. Give glory to the Lord, and call upon his name: declare his deeds among the Gentiles.
104:2. Sing to him, yea sing praises to him: relate all his wondrous works.
104:3. Glory ye in his holy name: let the heart of them rejoice that seek the Lord.
104:4. Seek ye the lord, and be strengthened: seek his face evermore.
104:5. Remember his marvellous works which he hath done; his wonders, and the judgments of his mouth.
104:6. O ye seed of Abraham his servant; ye sons of Jacob his chosen.
104:7. He is the Lord our God: his judgments are in all the earth.
104:8. He hath remembered his covenant for ever: the word which he commanded to a thousand generations.
104:9. Which he made to Abraham; and his oath to Isaac:
104:10. And he appointed the same to Jacob for a law, and to Israel for an everlasting testament:
104:11. Saying: To thee will I give the land of Chanaan, the lot of your inheritance.
104:12. When they were but a small number: yea very few, and sojourners therein:
104:13. And they passed from nation to nation, and from one kingdom to another people.
104:14. He suffered no man to hurt them: and he reproved kings for their sakes.
104:15. Touch ye not my anointed: and do no evil to my prophets.
104:16. And he called a famine upon the land: and he broke in pieces all the support of bread.
104:17. He sent a man before them: Joseph, who was sold for a slave.
104:18. They humbled his feet in fetters: the iron pierced his soul,
104:19. Until his word came. The word of the Lord inflamed him.
104:20. The king sent, and he released him: the ruler of the people, and he set him at liberty.
104:21. He made him master of his house, and ruler of all his possession.
104:22. That he might instruct his princes as himself, and teach his ancients wisdom.
104:23. And Israel went into Egypt: and Jacob was a sojourner in the land of Cham.
104:24. And he increased his people exceedingly: and strengthened them over their enemies.
104:25. He turned their heart to hate his people: and to deal deceitfully with his servants.
He turned their heart, etc... Not that God (who is never the author of sin) moved the Egyptians to hate and persecute his people; but that the Egyptians took occasion of hating and envying them, from the sight of the benefits which God bestowed upon them.
104:26. He sent Moses his servant: Aaron the man whom he had chosen.
104:27. He gave them power to shew them signs, and his wonders in the land of Cham.
104:28. He sent darkness, and made it obscure: and grieved not his words.
Grieved not his words... That is, he was not wanting to fulfil his words: or he did not grieve Moses and Aaron, the carriers of his words: or he did not grieve his words, that is, his sons, the children of Israel, who enjoyed light whilst the Egyptians were oppressed with darkness.
104:29. He turned their waters into blood, and destroyed their fish.
104:30. Their land brought forth frogs, in the inner chambers of their kings.
104:31. He spoke, and there came divers sorts of flies and sciniphs in all their coasts.
Sciniphs... See the annotation, Ex.8.16.
104:32. He gave them hail for rain, a burning fire in the land.
104:33. And he destroyed their vineyards and their fig trees: and he broke in pieces the trees of their coasts.
104:34. He spoke, and the locust came, and the bruchus, of which there was no number.
Bruchus... An insect of the locust kind.
104:35. And they devoured all the grass in their land, and consumed all the fruit of their ground.
104:36. And he slew all the firstborn in their land: the firstfruits of all their labour.
104:37. And he brought them out with silver and gold: and there was not among their tribes one that was feeble.
104:38. Egypt was glad when they departed: for the fear of them lay upon them.
104:39. He spread a cloud for their protection, and fire to give them light in the night.
104:40. They asked, and the quail came: and he filled them with the bread of heaven.
104:41. He opened the rock, and waters flowed: rivers ran down in the dry land.
104:42. Because he remembered his holy word, which he had spoken to his servant Abraham.
104:43. And he brought forth his people with joy, and his chosen with gladness.
104:44. And he gave them the lands of the Gentiles: and they possessed the labours of the people:
104:45. That they might observe his justifications, and seek after his law.
His justifications... That is, his commandments; which here, and in many other places of the scripture, are called justifications, because the keeping of them makes man just. The Protestants render it by the word statutes, in favour of their doctrine, which does not allow good works to justify.
Psalms Chapter 105
Confitemini Domino.
A confession of the manifold sins and ingratitudes of the Israelites.
Alleluia.
105:1. Give glory to the Lord, for he is good: for his mercy endureth for ever.
105:2. Who shall declare the powers of the Lord? who shall set forth all his praises?
105:3. Blessed are they that keep judgment, and do justice at all times.
105:4. Remember us, O Lord, in the favour of thy people: visit us with thy salvation.
105:5. That we may see the good of thy chosen, that we may rejoice in the joy of thy nation: that thou mayst be praised with thy inheritance.
105:6. We have sinned with our fathers: we have acted unjustly, we have wrought iniquity.
105:7. Our fathers understood not thy wonders in Egypt: they remembered not the multitude of thy mercies: And they provoked to wrath going up to the sea, even the Red Sea.
105:8. And he saved them for his own name's sake: that he might make his power known.
105:9. And he rebuked the Red Sea and it was dried up: and he led them through the depths, as in a wilderness.
105:10. And he saved them from the hand of them that hated them: and he redeemed them from the hand of the enemy.
105:11. And the water covered them that afflicted them: there was not one of them left.
105:12. And they believed his words: and they sang his praises.
105:13. They had quickly done, they forgot his works: and they waited not for his counsel.
105:14. And they coveted their desire in the desert: and they tempted God in the place without water.
105:15. And he gave them their request: and sent fulness into their souls.
105:16. And they provoked Moses in the camp, Aaron the holy one of the Lord.
105:17. The earth opened and swallowed up Dathan: and covered the congregation of Abiron.
105:18. And a fire was kindled in their congregation: the flame burned the wicked.
105:19. They made also a calf in Horeb: and they adored the graven thing.
105:20. And they changed their glory into the likeness of a calf that eateth grass.
105:21. They forgot God, who saved them, who had done great things in Egypt,
105:22. Wondrous works in the land of Cham: terrible things in the Red Sea.
105:23. And he said that he would destroy them: had not Moses his chosen stood before him in the breach: To turn away his wrath, lest he should destroy them.
105:24. And they set at nought the desirable land. They believed not his word,
105:25. And they murmured in their tents: they hearkened not to the voice of the Lord.
105:26. And he lifted up his hand over them: to overthrow them in the desert;
105:27. And to cast down their seed among the nations, and to scatter them in the countries.
105:28. They also were initiated to Beelphegor: and ate the sacrifices of the dead.
Initiated... That is, they dedicated, or consecrated themselves to the idol of the Moabites and Madianites, called Beelphegor, or Baal-Peor. Num. 25.3.-Ibid. The dead... Viz., idols without life.
105:29. And they provoked him with their inventions: and destruction was multiplied among them.
105:30. Then Phinees stood up, and pacified him: and the slaughter ceased.
105:31. And it was reputed to him unto justice, to generation and generation for evermore.
105:32. They provoked him also at the waters of contradiction: and Moses was afflicted for their sakes:
105:33. Because they exasperated his spirit. And he distinguished with his lips.
He distinguished with his lips... Moses, by occasion of the people's rebellion and incredulity, was guilty of distinguishing with his lips; when, instead of speaking to the rock, as God had commanded, he said to the people, with a certain hesitation in his faith, Hear ye, rebellious and incredulous: Can we from this rock bring out water for you? Num. 20.10.
105:34. They did not destroy the nations of which the Lord spoke unto them.
105:35. And they were mingled among the heathens, and learned their works:
105:36. And served their idols, and it became a stumblingblock to them.
105:37. And they sacrificed their sons, and their daughters to devils.
105:38. And they shed innocent blood: the blood of their sons and of their daughters which they sacrificed to the idols of Chanaan. And the land was polluted with blood,
105:39. And was defiled with their works: and they went aside after their own inventions.
105:40. And the Lord was exceedingly angry with his people: and he abhorred his inheritance.
105:41. And he delivered them into the hands of the nations: and they that hated them had dominion over them.
105:42. And their enemies afflicted them: and they were humbled under their hands:
105:43. Many times did he deliver them. But they provoked him with their counsel: and they were brought low by their iniquities.
105:44. And he saw when they were in tribulation: and he heard their prayer.
105:45. And he was mindful of his covenant: and repented according to the multitude of his mercies.
105:46. And he gave them unto mercies, in the sight of all those that had made them captives.
105:47. Save us, O Lord, our God: and gather us from among the nations: That we may give thanks to thy holy name, and may glory in thy praise.
105:48. Blessed be the Lord the God of Israel, from everlasting to everlasting: and let all the people say: So be it, so be it.
Psalms Chapter 106
Confitemini Domino.
All are invited to give thanks to God for his perpetual providence over men..
Alleluia.
106:1. Give glory to the Lord, for he is good: for his mercy endureth for ever.
106:2. Let them say so that have been redeemed by the Lord, whom he hath redeemed from the hand of the enemy: and gathered out of the countries.
106:3. From the rising and from the setting of the sun, from the north and from the sea.
106:4. They wandered in a wilderness, in a place without water: they found not the way of a city for their habitation.
106:5. They were hungry and thirsty: their soul fainted in them.
106:6. And they cried to the Lord in their tribulation: and he delivered them out of their distresses.
106:7. And he led them into the right way, that they might go to a city of habitation.
106:8. Let the mercies of the Lord give glory to him: and his wonderful works to the children of men.
106:9. For he hath satisfied the empty soul, and hath filled the hungry soul with good things.
106:10. Such as sat in darkness and in the shadow of death: bound in want and in iron.
106:11. Because they had exasperated the words of God: and provoked the counsel of the most High:
106:12. And their heart was humbled with labours: they were weakened, and there was none to help them.
106:13. Then they cried to the Lord in their affliction: and he delivered them out of their distresses.
106:14. And he brought them out of darkness, and the shadow of death; and broke their bonds in sunder.
106:15. Let the mercies of the Lord give glory to him, and his wonderful works to the children of men.