Hoped, therefore have I spoken; though I was brought exceeding low. REDIDI,propter quod locutus sum; CREE ego autem humiliatus sum nimis. Ego dixi in excessu meo; * omnis homo mendax. Quid retribuam Domino, * pro omnibus, quæ retribuit mihi? Calicem salutaris accipiam, et nomen Domini invocabo. Vota mea Domino reddam coram omni populo ejus; pretiosa in conspectu Domini mors sanctorum ejus. O Domine, quia ego servus tuus, * ego servus tuus, et filius ancillæ tuæ. Dirapisti vincula mea; * tibi sacrificabo hostiam lau + Expl. The Lord will be ever true to his promise. Expl. I will pour out a libation on his altar in thanksgiving for his having saved me. Lit. We were. But the context directs it to be in the future, and St. Augustin interprets the whole psalm of our future and final deliverance from the bondage of corruption. § Expl. Bring back thy people from their captivity, which will fill them with joy, as a torrent of fresh water doth the inhabitants of the hot, burnt-up countries of the south. 1 Psalm cxxxviii. LORD, thou hast tried me, and hast known me ; * thou hast known my sitting down, and rising up.t Thou hast known my thoughts afar off;*my path and my line hast thou examined. And thou hast foreseen all my ways;*when there was no speech on my ton gue. Behold, O Lord, thou knowest all things, the last, and those of old;*thou formedst me, and laid'st thy hand upon me. § Thy knowledge is too wonderful for me;*it is great, and I cannot reach it. Whither shall I go from thy spirit ;*And from thy face whither shall I fly? If I ascend to heaven, thou art there; *if I go down to hell, thou art also there. If I take my wings in the morning, and dwell in the farthest isles of the sea; Truly thy hand will lead me thither; and thy right hand support me. And I said; perhaps darkness may conceal me ;* even night itself will shine on me in my pleasures. + Expl. Both at rest, and in action. My conduct of life, the rule of my actions. 'Tis an allusion to the line and plummet of the mason. § Expl. Even in the womb of my mother, as soon as I was formed, thou laid'st hold of me, as thy own. For darkness shall not be dark to thee and the night shall be light as day;*the darkness of the one and the light of the other are the same to thee. For thou art in possession of reins t; * my thou hast protected me from my mother's womb. I will acknowledge to thee, that thou art awful in thy greatness ;* wonderful are thy works, and my soul knoweth it right well. Not a bone of mine is hid from thee, which thou formedst in secret; and my whole substance in the lower parts of the earth§. Thy eyes did see my imperfect being, and in thý book were all parts written ;*they were formed day by day, and none of them before.t But to me, O God, thy friends are exceeding honourable;*exceeding mighty is their power. I will set about to number them, but they will be found more than the sands of the sea; * I rose up, and am still with thee. || Quia tenebræ non obscurabuntur a te, et nox sicut dies illuminabitur; * sicut tenebræ ejus, ita et lumen ejus. Quia tu possedisti renes meos: * suscepisti me de utero matris meæ. Confitebor tibi, quia terribiliter magnificatus es; * mirabilia opera tua, et anima mea cognoscit nimis. Non est occultatum os meum a te, quod fecisti in occulto;* et substantia mea in inferioribus terræ. Imperfectum meum viderunt occuli tui, et in libro tuo omnes scribentur ; * dies formabuntur, et nemo in eis. Mihi autem nimis honorificati sunt amici tui, Deus; nimis confortatus est principatus eorum. Dinumerabo eos, et super arenam multiplicabuntur; * exurrexi, et adhuc sum tecum. + Expl. Thou hast always known the most secret thoughts of my soul. § Expl. In the womb of my mother, as much secreted from the sight of man, as if in the bowels of the earth. . Expl. Thou didst behold me, when I was still an embryo in the womb of my mother. Every part of my body was noted down, as it were in a book: the formation was progressive day after day, and no part completed before its appointed time. Expl. I attempted it, but was still where I was, lost in the contemplation of thy power. REMEMBER David, O Lord; all his meekness in suffering. How he swore to the Lord ;*and made a vow to the God of Jacob. I will not enter the inner part of my house ;*I will not go into the bed whereon I lie. I will not grant sleep to my eyes;*nor slumber to my eye-lids. Or rest to my temples; till I find a place for the Lord ;*an abode for the God of Jacob. Behold we heard of it in Ephrata ;*we have found it in the fields of the forest. Expl. All the promises of an eternal abode in heaven are vain to the wicked. |