The psalms are called by the Hebrews TEHILLIM, that is, Hymns of Praise.
The author, of a great part of them at least, was king David: but many
are of opinion that some of them were made by Asaph, and others whose
names are prefixed in the titles.


Psalms Chapter 1

Beatus vir.

The happiness of the just and the evil state of the wicked.

1:1. Blessed is the man who hath not walked in the counsel of the
ungodly, nor stood in the way of sinners, nor sat in the chair of
pestilence:

1:2. But his will is in the law of the Lord, and on his law he shall
meditate day and night.

1:3. And he shall be like a tree which is planted near the running
waters, which shall bring forth its fruit, in due season. And his leaf
shall not fall off: and all whatsoever he shall do shall prosper.

1:4. Not so the wicked, not so: but like the dust, which the wind
driveth from the face of the earth.

1:5. Therefore the wicked shall not rise again in judgment: nor sinners
in the council of the just.

1:6. For the Lord knoweth the way of the just: and the way of the wicked
shall perish.

Psalms Chapter 2

Quare fremuerunt.

The vain efforts of persecutors against Christ and his church.

2:1. Why have the Gentiles raged, and the prople devised vain things?

2:2. The kings of the earth stood up, and the princes met together,
against the Lord, and against his Christ.

2:3. Let us break their bonds asunder: and let us cast away their yoke
from us.

2:4. He that dwelleth in heaven shall laugh at them: and the Lord shall
deride them.

2:5. Then shall he speak to them in his anger, and trouble them in his
rage.

2:6. But I am appointed king by him over Sion, his holy mountain,
preahing his comandment.

2:7. The Lord hath said to me: Thou art my son, this day have I begotten
thee.

2:8. Ask of me, and I will give thee the Gentiles for thy inheritance,
and the utmost parts of the earth for thy possession.

2:9. Thou shalt rule them with a rod of iron, and shalt break them in
pieces like a potter's vessel.

2:10. And now, O ye kings, understand: receive instruction, you that
judge the earth.

2:11. Serve ye the Lord with fear: and rejoice unto him with trembling.

2:12. Embrace discipline, lest at any time the Lord be angry, and you
perish from the just way.

2:13. When his wrath shall be kindled in a short time, blessed are all
they that trust in him.

Psalms Chapter 3

Domine, quid multiplicati.

The prophet's danger and delivery from his son Absalom: mystically, the
passion and resurrection of Christ.

3:1. The psalm of David when he fled from the face of his son Absalom.

3:2. Many say to my soul: There is no salavation for him in his God.

3:4. But thou, O Lord, art my protector, my glory, and the lifter up of
my head.

3:5. I have cried to the Lord with my voice: and he hath heard me from
his holy hill.

3:6. I have slept and have taken my rest: and I have risen up, because
the Lord hath protected me.

3:7. I will not fear thousands of the people surrounding me: arise, O
Lord; save me, O my God.

3:8. For thou hast struck all them who are my adversaries without cause:
thou hast broken the teeth of sinners.

3:9. Salvation is of the Lord: and thy blessing is upon thy people.

Psalms Chapter 4

Cum invocarem.

The prophet teacheth us to flee to God in tribulation, with confidence
in him.

4:1. Unto the end, in verses. A psalm for David.

Unto the end... Or, as St. Jerome renders it, victori, to him that
overcometh: which some understand of the chief musician; to whom they
suppose the psalms, which bear that title, were given to be sung: we
rather understand the psalms thus inscribed to refer to Christ, who is
the end of the law, and the great conqueror of death and hell, and to
the New Testament.-Ibid. In verses, in carminibus... In the Hebrew, it
is neghinoth, supposed by some to be a musical instrument, with which
this psalm was to be sung.-Ibid. For David, or to David... That is,
inspired to David himself, or to be sung.

4:2. When I called upon him, the God of my justice heard me: when I was
in distress, thou hast enlarged me. Have mercy on me: and hear my
prayer.

4:3. O ye sons of men, how long will you be dull of heart? why do you
love vanity, and seek after lying?

4:4. Know ye also that the Lord hath made his holy one wonderful: the
Lord will hear me when I shall cry unto him.

4:5. Be ye angry, and sin not: the things you say in your hearts, be
sorry for them upon your beds.

4:6. Offer up the sacrifice of justice, and trust in the Lord: many say,
Who sheweth us good things?

4:7. The light of thy countenance, O Lord, is signed upon us: thou hast
given gladness in my heart.

4:8. By the fruit of their corn, their wine, and oil, they rest:

4:9. In peace in the self same I will sleep, and I will rest:

4:10. For thou, O Lord, singularly hast settled me in hope.

Psalms Chapter 5

Verba mea auribul.

A prayer to God against the iniquities of men.

5:1. Unto the end, for her that obtaineth the inheritance. A psalm for
David.

For her that obtaineth the inheritance... That is, for the church of
Christ.

5:2. Give ear, O Lord, to my words, understand my cry.

5:3. Hearken to the voice of my prayer, O my King and my God.

5:4. For to thee will I pray: O Lord, in the morning thou shalt hear my
voice.

5:5. In the morning I will stand before thee, and I will see: because
thou art not a God that willest iniquity.

5:6. Neither shall the wicked dwell near thee: nor shall the unjust
abide before thy eyes.

5:7. Thou hatest all the workers of iniquity: thou wilt destroy all that
speak a lie. The bloody and the deceitful man the Lord will abhor.

5:8. But as for me in the multitude of thy mercy, I will come into thy
house; I will worship towards thy holy temple, in thy fear.

5:9. Conduct me, O Lord, in thy justice: because of my enemies, direct
my way in thy sight.

5:10. For there is no truth in their mouth: their heart is vain.

5:11. Their throat is an open sepulchre: they dealt deceitfully with
their tongues: judge them, O God. Let them fall from their devices:
according to the multitude of their wickednesses cast them out: for they
have provoked thee, O Lord.

5:12. But let all them be glad that hope in thee: they shall rejoice for
ever, and thou shalt dwell in them. And all they that love thy name
shall glory in thee.

5:13. For thou wilt bless the just. O Lord, thou hast crowned us, as
with a shield of thy good will.

Psalms Chapter 6

Domine, ne in furore.

A prayer of a penitent sinner, under the scourge of God. The first
penitential psalm.

6:1. Unto the end, in verses, a psalm for David, for the octave.

For the octave... That is, to be sung on an instrument of eight strings.
St. Augustine understands it mystically, of the last resurrection, and
the world to come; which is, as it were, the octave, or eighth day,
after the seven days of this mortal life: and for this octave, sinners
must dispose themselves, like David, by bewailing their sins, whilst
they are here upon earth.

6:2. O Lord, rebuke me not in thy indignation, nor chastise me in thy
wrath.

6:3. Have mercy on me, O Lord, for I am weak: heal me, O Lord, for my
bones are troubled.

6:4. And my soul is troubled exceedingly: but thou, O Lord, how long?

6:5. Turn to me, O Lord, and deliver my soul: O save me for thy mercy's
sake.

5:5. For there is no one indeath, that is mindful of thee: and who shall
confess to thee in hell?

6:7. I have laboured in my groanings, every night I will wash my bed: I
will water my couch with my tears.

6:8. My eye is troubled through indignation: I have grown old amongst
all my enemies.

6:9. Depart from em, all ye workers of iniquity: for the Lord hath heard
the voice of my weeping.

6:10. The Lord hath heard my supplication: the Lord hath received my
prayer.

6:11. Let all my enemies be ashamed, and be very much troubled: let them
be turned back, and be ashamed very speedily.

Psalms Chapter 7

Domine, Deus meus.

David, trusting in the justice of his cause, prayeth for God's help
against his enemies.

7:1. The psalm of David, which he sung to the Lord, for the words of
Chusi, the son of Jemini.

7:2. O Lord, my God, in thee have I put my trust; same me from all them
that persecute me, and deliver me.

7:3. Lest at any time he seize upon my soul like a lion, while there is
no one to redeem me, nor to save.

7:4. O Lord, my God, if I have done this thing, if there be iniquity in
my hands:

7:5. If I have rendered to them that repaid me evils, let me deservedly
fall empty before my enemies.

7:6. Let the enemy pursue my soul, and take it, and tread down my life,
on the earth, and bring down my glory to the dust.

7:7. Rise up, O Lord, in thy anger: and be thou exalted in the borders
of my enemies. And arise, O Lord, my God, in the precept which thou hast
commanded:

7:8. And a congregation of people shall surround thee. And for their
sakes return thou on high.

7:9. The Lord judgeth the people. Judge me, O Lord, according to my
justice, and according to my innocence in me.

7:10. The wickedness of sinners shall be brought to nought; and thou
shalt direct the just: the searcher of hearts and reins is God.

7:11. Just is my help from the Lord; who saveth the upright of heart.

7:12. God is a just judge, strong and patient: is he angry every day?

7:13. Except you will be converted, he will brandish his sword; he hath
bent his bow, and made it ready.

7:14. And in it he hath prepared to instruments of death, he hath made
ready his arrows for them that burn.

For them that burn... That is, against the persecutors of his saints.

7:15. Behold he hath been in labour iwht injustice: he hath conceived
sorrow, and brought forth iniquity.

7:16. He hath opened a pit and dug it: and he is fallen into the hole he
made.

7:17. His sorrow shall be turned on his own head: and his iniquity shall
come down upon his crown.

7:18. I will give glory to the Lord according to his justice: and will
sing to the name of the Lord the most high.

Psalms Chapter 8

Domine, Dominus noster.

God is wonderful in his works; especially in mankind, singularly exalted
by the incarnation of Christ.

8:1. Unto the end, for the presses: a psalm for David.

The presses... In Hebrew, Gittith, supposed to be a musical instrument.

8:2. O Lord, our Lord, how admirable is thy name in the whole earth! For
thy magnificence is elevated above the heavens.

8:3. Out of the mouth of infants and of sucklings thou hast perfected
praise, because of thy enemies, that thou mayst destroy the enemy and
the avenger.

8:4. For I will behold thy heavens, the works of thy fingers: the moon
and the stars which thou hast founded.

8:5. What is man, that thou art mindful of him? or the son of man, that
thou visitest him?

8:6. Thou hast made him a little less than the angels, thou hast crowned
him with glory and honour:

8:7. And hast set him over the works of thy hands.

8:8. Thou hast subjected all things under his feet, all sheep and oxen:
moreover, the beasts also of the fields.

8:9. The birds of the air, and the fishes of the sea, that pass through
the paths of the sea.

8:10. O Lord, our Lord, how admirable is thy name in the whole earth!

Psalms Chapter 9

Confitebor tibi, Domine. The church praiseth God for his protection
against her enemies.

9:1. Unto the end, for the hidden things of the Son. A psalm for David.

The hidden things of the Son... The humility and sufferings of Christ,
the Son of God; and of good Christians, who are his sons by adoption;
are called hidden things, with regard to the children of this world, who
know not the value and merit of them.

9:2. I will give lpraise to thee, O Lord, with my whole heart: I will
relate all thy wonders.

9:3. I will be glad, and rejoice inthee: I will sing to thy name, O thou
most high.

9:4. When my enemy shall be turned back: they shall be weakened, and
perish before thy face.

9:5. For thou hast maintained my judgment and my cause: thou hast sat on
the throne, who judgest justice.

9:6. Thou hast rebuked the Gentiles, and the wicked one hath perished;
thou hast blotted out their name for ever and ever.

9:7. The swords of the enemy have failed unto the end: and their cities
thou hast destroyed. Their memory hath perished with a noise:

9:8. But the Lord remaineth for ever. He hath prepared his throne in
judgment:

9:9. And he shall judge the world in equity, he shall judge the lpeople
in justice.

9:10. And the Lord is become a refuge for the poor: a helper in due time
in tribulation.

9:11. And let them trust in thee who know thy name: for thou hast not
forsaken them that seek thee, O Lord.

9:12. Sing ye to the Lord, who dwelleth in Sion: declare his ways among
the Gentiles:

9:13. For requiring their blood, he hath remembered them: he hath not
forgotten the cry of the poor.

9:14. Have mercy on me, O Lord: see my humiliation which I suffer from
my enemies.

9:15. Thou that liftest me up from the gates of death, that I may
declare all thy praises in the gates of the daughter of Sion.

9:16. I will rejoice in thy salvation: the Gentiles have stuck fast in
the destruction which they prepared. Their foot hath been taken in the
very snare which they hid.

9:17. The Lord shall be known when he executeth judgments: the sinner
hath been caught in the works of his own hands.

9:18. The wicked shall be turned into hell, all the nations that forget
God.

9:19. For the poor man shall not be forgotten to the end: the patience
of the poor shall not perish for ever.

9:20. Arise, O Lord, let not man be strengthened: let the Gentiles be
judged in thy sight.

9:21. Appoint, O Lord, a lawgiver over them: that the Gentiles may know
themselves to be but men.

Here the late Hebrew doctors divide this psalm into two, making ver. 22
the beginning of psalm 10. And again they join Psalms 146 and 147 into
one, in order that the whole number of psalms should not exceed 150. And
in this manner the psalms are numbered in the Protestant Bible.

(Psalm Chapter 10 according to the Hebrews.)

9:1. Why, O Lord, hast thou retired afar off? why dost thou slight us in
our wants, in the time of trouble?

9:2. Whilst the wicked man is proud, the poor is set on fire: they are
caught in the counsels which they devise.

9:3. For the sinner is praised in the desires of his soul: and the
unjust man is blessed.

9:4. The sinner hath provoked the Lord, according to the multitude of
his wrath, he will not seek him:

9:5. God is not before his eyes: his ways are filthy at all times. Thy
judgments are removed form his sight: he shall rule over all his
enemies.

9:6. For he hath said in his heart: I shall not be moved from generation
to generation, and shall be without evil.

9:7. His mouth is full of cursing, and of bitterness, and of deciet:
under his tongue are labour and sorrow.

9:8. He sitteth in ambush with the rich, in private places, that he may
kill the innocent.

9:9. His eyes are upon the poor man: he lieth in wait, in secret, like a
lion in his den. He lieth in ambush, that he may catch the poor man: so
catch the poor, whilst he draweth him to him.

9:10. In his net he will bring him down, he will crouch and fall, when
he shall have power over the poor.

9:11. For he hath said in his heart: God hath forgotten, he hath turned
away his face, not to see to the end.

9:12. Arise, O Lord God, let thy hand be exalted: forget not the poor.

9:13. Wherefore hath the wicked provoked God? for he hath said in his
heart: He will not require it.

9:14. Thou seest it, for thou considerest labour and sorrow: that thou
mayst deliver them into thy hands. To thee is the poor man left: thou
wilt be a helper to the orphan.

9:15. Break thou the arm of the sinner and of the malignant: his sin
shall be sought, and shall not be found.

9:16. The Lord shall reign to eternity, yea, for ever and ever: ye
Gentiles shall perish from his land.

9:17. The Lord hath heard the desire of the poor: thy ear hath heard the
preparatgion of their heart.

9:18. To judge for the fatherless and for the humble, that man may no
more presume to magnify himself upon earth.

Psalms Chapter 10

In Domino confido.

The just man's confidence in God in the midst of persecutions.

10:1. Unto the end. A psalm to David.

10:2. In the Lord I put my trust: how then do you say to my soul: Get
thee away from hence to the mountain, like a sparrow.

10:3. For, lo, the wicked have bent their bow: they have prepared their
arows in the quiver, to shoot in the dark the upright of heart.

10:4. For they have destroyed the things which thou hast made: but what
has the just man done?

10:5. The Lord is in his holy temple, the Lord's throne is in heaven.
His eyes look on the poor man: his eyelids examine the sons of men.

10:6. The Lord trieth the just and the wicked: but he that loveth
iniquity, hateth his own soul.

10:7. He shall rain snares upon sinners: fire and brimstone, and storms
of winds, shall be the portion of their cup.

10:8. For the Lord is just, and hath loved justice: his countenance hath
beheld righteousness.

Psalms Chapter 11

Salvum me fac.

The prophet calls for God's help against the wicked.

11:1. Unto the end: for the octave, a psalm for David.

11:2. Save me, O Lord, for there is now no saint: truths are decayed
from among the children of men.

11:3. They have spoken vain things, every one to his neighbour: with
deceitful lips, and with a double heart have they spoken.

11:4. May the Lord destroy all deceitful lips, and the tongue that
speaketh proud things.

11:5. Who have said: We will magnify our tongue: our lips are our own:
who is Lord over us?

11:6. By reason of the misery of the needy, and the groans of the poor,
now will I arise, saith the Lord. I will set him in safety: I will deal
confidently in his regard.

11:7. The words of the Lord are pure words: as silver tried by the fire,
purged from the earth, refined seven times.

11:8. Thou, O Lord, wilt preserve us: and keep us from this generation
for ever.

11:9. The wicked walk round about: according to thy highness, thou hast
multiplied the children of men.

Psalms Chapter 12

Usquequo, Domine.

A prayer in tribulation.

12:1. Unto the end, a psalm for David. How long, O Lord, wilt thou
forget me unto the end? how long dost thou turn away thy face from me?

12:2. How long shall I take counsels in my soul, sorrow in my heart all
the day?

12:3. How long shall my enemy be exalted over Me?

12:4. Consider, and hear me, O Lord, my God. Enlighten my eyes, that I
never sleep in death:

12:5. Lest at any time my enemy say: I have prevailed against him. They
that trouble me, will rejoice when I am moved:

12:6. But I have trusted in thy mercy. My heart shall rejoice in thy
salvation: I will sing to the Lord, who giveth me good things: yea, I
will sing to the name of the Lord, the most high.

Psalms Chapter 13

Dixit insipiens. 1.

The general corruption of man before our redemption by Christ.

13:1. Unto the end, a psalm for David. The fool hath said in his heart:
There is no God. They are corrupt, and are become abominable in their
ways: there is none that doth good, no not one.

13:2. The Lord hath looked down from heaven upon the children of men, to
see if there be any that understand and seek God.

13:3. They are all gone aside, they are become unprofitable together:
there is none that doth good: no not one. Their throat is an open
sepulchre; with their tongues they acted deceitfully: the poison of asps
is under their lips.  Their mouth is full of cursing and bitterness;
their feet are swift to shed blood. Destruction and unhappiness in their
ways; and the way of peace they have not known: there is no fear of God
before their eyes.

13:4. Shall not all they know that work iniquity, who devour my people
as they eat bread?

13:5. They have not called upon the Lord: there have they trembled for
fear, where there was no fear.

13:6. For the Lord is in the just generation: you have confounded the
counsel of the poor man; but the Lord is his hope.

13:7. Who shall give out of Sion the salvation of Israel? when the Lord
shall have turned away the captivity of his people, Jacob shall rejoice,
and Israel shall be glad.

Psalms Chapter 14

Domine, quis habitabit.

What kind of men shall dwell in the heavenly Sion.

14:1. A psalm for David. Lord, who shall dwell in thy tabernacle? or who
shall rest in thy holy hill?

14:2. He that walketh without blemish, and worketh justice:

14:3. He that speaketh truth in his heart, who hath not used deceit in
his tongue: Nor hath done evil to his neighbour: nor taken up a reproach
against his neighbours.

14:4. In his sight the malignant is brought to nothing: but he
glorifieth them that fear the Lord. He that sweareth to his neighbour,
and deceiveth not;

14:5. He that hath not put out his money to usury, nortaken bribes
against the innocent: He that doth these things, chall not be moved for
ever.

Psalms Chapter 15

Conserva me, Domine.

Christ's future victory and triumph over the world and death.

15:1. The inscription of a title to David himself. Preserve me, O Lord,
for I have put my trust in thee.

The inscription of a title... That is, of a pillar or monument,
staylographia: which is as much as to say, that this psalm is most
worthy to be engraved on an everlasting monument.

15:2. I have said to the Lord, thou art my God, for thou hast no need of
my goods.

15:3. To the saints, who are in his land, he hath made wonderful all my
desires in them.

15:4. Their infirmities were multiplied: afterwards they made haste. I
will not gather together their meetings for bloodofferings: nor will I
be mindful of their names by my lips.

15:5. The Lord is the portion of my inheritance and of my cup: it is
thou that wilt restore my inheritance to me.

15:6. The lines are fallen unto me in goodly places: for my inheritance
is goodly to me.

15:7. I will bless the Lord, who hath given me understanding: moreover,
my reins also have corrected me even till night.

15:8. I set the Lord always in my sight: for he is at my right hand,
that I be not moved.

15:9. Therefore my heart hath been glad, and my tongue hath rejoiced:
moreover, my flesh also shall rest in hope.

15:10. Because thou wilt not leave my soul in hell; nor wilt thou give
thy holy one to see corruption.

15:11. Thou hast made known to me the ways of life, thou shalt fill me
with joy with thy countenance: at thy right hand are delights even to
the end.

Psalms Chapter 16

Exaudi, Domine, justitiam.

A just man's prayer in tribulation against the malice of his enemy.

16:1. The prayer of David. Hear, O Lord, my justice: attend to my
supplication. Give ear unto my prayer, which proceedeth not from
deceitful lips.

16:2. Let my judgment come forth from thy countenance: let thy eyes
behold the things that are equitable.

16:3. Thou hast proved my heart, and visited it by night, thou hast
tried me by fire: and iniquity hath not been found in me.

16:4. That my mouth may not speak the works of men: for the sake of the
words of thy lips, I have kept hard ways.

16:5. Perfect thou my goings in thy paths: that my footsteps be not
moved.

16:6. I have cried to thee, for thou, O God, hast heard me: O incline
thy ear unto me, and hear my words.

16:7. Shew forth thy wonderful mercies; thou who savest them that trust
in thee.

16:8. From them that resist thy right hand keep me, as the apple of thy
eye. Protect me under the shadow of thy wings.

16:9. From the face of the wicked who have afflicted me. My enemies have
surrounded my soul:

16:10. They have shut up their fat: their mouth hath spoken proudly.

Their fat... That is, their bowels of compassion: for they have none for
me.

16:11. They have cast me forth, and now they have surrounded me: they
have set their eyes bowing down to the earth.

16:12. They have taken me, as a lion prepared for the prey; and as a
young lion dwelling in secret places.

16:13. Arise, O Lord, disappoint him and supplant him; deliver my soul
from the wicked one; thy sword

16:14. From the enemies of thy hand. O Lord, divide them from the few of
the earth in their life: their belly is filled from thy hidden stores.
They are full of children: and they have left to their little ones the
rest of their substance.

Divide them from the few, etc... That is, cut them off from the earth,
and the few trifling things thereof; which they are so proud of, or
divide them from the few; that is, from thy elect, who are but few; that
they may no longer have it in their power to oppress them. It is not
meant by way of a curse or imprecation; but, as many other the like
passages in the psalms, by way of a prediction, or prophecy of what
should come upon them, in punishment of their wickedness. Ibid. Thy
hidden stores... Thy secret treasures, out of which thou furnishest
those earthly goods, which, with a bountiful hand thou hast distributed
both to the good and the bad.

16:15. But as for me, I will appear before thy sight in justice: I shall
be satisfied when thy glory shall appear.

Psalms Chapter 17

Diligam te, Domine.

David's thanks to God for his delivery from all his enemies.

17:1. Unto the end, for David, the servant of the Lord, who spoke to the
Lord the words of this canticle, in the day that the Lord delivered him
from the hand of all his enemies, and from the hand of Saul: and he
said:

17:2. I will love thee, O Lord, my strength:

17:3. The Lord is my firmament, my refuge, and my deliverer. My God is
my helper, and in him will I put my trust. My protector, and the horn of
my salvation, and my support.

17:4. Praising, I will call upon the Lord: and I shall be saved from my
enemies.

17:5. The sorrows of death surrounded me: and the torrents of iniquity
troubled me.

17:6. The sorrows of hell encompassed me: and the snares of death
prevented me.

17:7. In my affliction I called upon the Lord, and I cried to my God:
And he heard my voice from his holy temple: and my cry before him came
into his ears.

17:8. The earth shook and trembled: the foundations of the mountains
were troubled and were moved, because he was angry with them.

17:9. There went up a smoke in his wrath: and a fire flamed from his
face: coals were kindled by it.

17:10. He bowed the heavens, and came down, and darkness was under his
feet.

17:11. And he ascended upon the cherubim, and he flew; he flew upon the
wings of the winds.

17:12. And he made darkness his covert, his pavilion round about him:
dark waters in the clouds of the air.

17:13. At the brightness that was before him the clouds passed, hail and
coals of fire.

17:14. And the Lord thundered from heaven, and the Highest gave his
voice: hail and coals of fire.

17:15. And he sent forth his arrows, and he scattered them: he
multiplied lightnings, and troubled them.

17:16. Then the fountains of waters appeared, and the foundations of the
world were discovered: At thy rebuke, O Lord, at the blast of the spirit
of thy wrath.

17:17. He sent from on high, and took me: and received me out of many
waters.

17:18. He delivered me from my strongest enemies, and from them that
hated me: for they were too strong for me.

17:19. They prevented me in the day of my affliction: and the Lord
became my rotector.

17:20. And he brought me forth into a large place: he saved me, because
he was well pleased with me.

17:21. And the Lord will reward me according to my justice; and will
repay me according to the cleanness of my hands:

17:22. Because I have kept the ways of the Lord; and have not done
wickedly against my God.

17:23. For all his judgments are in my sight: and his justices I have
not put away from me.

17:24. And I shall be spotless with him: and shall keep myself from my
iniquity.

17:25. And the Lord will reward me according to my justice: and
according to the cleanness of my hands before his eyes.

17:26. With the holy thou wilt be holy; and with the innocent man thou
wilt be innocent:

17:27. And withe the elect thou wilt be elect: and with the perverse
thou wilt be perverted.

17:28. For thou wilt save the humble people; but wilt bring down the
eyes of the proud.

17:29. For thou lightest my lamp, O Lord: O my God, enlighten my
darkness.

17:30. For by thee I shall be delivered from temptation; and through my
God I shall go over a wall.

17:31. As for my God, his way is undefiled: the words of the Lord are
fire-tried: he is the protector of all that trust in him.

17:32. For who is God but the Lord? or who is God but our God?

17:33. God, who hath girt me with strength; and made my way blameless.

17:34. Who hath made my feet like the feet of harts: and who setteth me
upon high places.

17:35. Who teacheth my hands to war: and thou hast made my arms like a
brazen bow.

17:36. And thou hast given me the protection of thy salvation: and thy
right hand hath held me up: And thy discipline hath corrected me unto
the end: and thy discipline, the same shall teach me.

17:37. Thou hast enlarged my steps under me; and my feet are not
weakened.

17:38. I will pursue after my enemies, and overtake them: and I will not
turn again till they are consumed.

17:39. I will break them, and they shall not be able to stand: they
shall fall under my feet.

17:40. And thou hast girded me with strength unto battle; and hast
subdued under me them that rose up against me.

17:41. And thou hast made my enemies furn their back upon me, and hast
destroyed them that hated me.

17:42. They cried, but there was none to save them, to the Lord: but he
heard them not.

17:43. And I shall beat them as small as the dust before the wind; I
shall bring them to nought, like the dirt in the streets.

17:44. Thou wilt deliver me from the contradictions of the people; thou
wilt make me head of the Gentiles.

17:45. A people which I knew not, hath seerved me: at the hearing of the
ear they have obeyed me.

17:46. The children that are strangers have lied to me, strange children
have faded away, and have halted from their paths.

17:47. The Lord liveth, and blessed by my God, and let the God of my
salvation be exalted.

17:48. O God, who avengest me, and subduest the people under me, my
deliverer from my enraged enemies.

17:49. And thou wilt lift me up above them that rise up against me: from
the unjust man thou wilt deliver me.

17:50. Therefore will I give glory to thee, O Lord, among the nations,
and I will sing a psalm to thy name.

17:51. Giving great deliverance to his king, and shewing mercy to David,
his anointed: and to his seed for ever.

Psalms Chapter 18

Coeli enarrant.

The works of God shew forth his glory: his law is greatly to be esteemed
and loved.

18:1. Unto the end. APsalm Chapter for David.

18:2. The heavens shew forth the glory of God, and the firmament
declareth the work of his hands.

18:3. Day to day uttereth speech, and night to night sheweth knowledge.

18:4. There are no speeches nor languages, where their voices are not
heard.

18:5. Their sound hath gone forth into all the earth: and their words
unto the ends of the world.

18:6. He hath set his tabernacle in the sun: and he as a bridegroom
coming out of his bridechamber, Hath rejoiced as a giant to run the way:

18:7. His going out is from the end of heaven, And his circuit even to
the end thereof: and ther is no one that can hide himself from his heat.

18:8. The law of the Lord is unspotted, converting souls: the testimony
of the Lord is faithful, giving wisdom to little ones.

18:9. The justices of the Lord are right, rejoicing hearts: the
commandment of the Lord is lightsome, enlightening the eyes.

18:10. The fear of the Lord is holy, enduring for ever and ever: the
judgments of the Lord are true, justified in themselves.

18:11. More to be desired than gold and many precious stones: and
sweeter than honey and the honeycomb.

18:12. For thy servant keepeth them, and in keeping them there is a
great reward.

18:13. Who can understand sins? from my secret ones cleanse me, O Lord:

18:14. And from those of others spare thy servant. If they shall have no
dominion over me, then shall I be without spot: and I shall be cleansed
form the greatest sin.

18:15. And the words of my mouth shall be such as may please: and the
meditation of my heart always in thy sight. O Lord, my helper and my
Redeemer.

Psalms Chapter 19

Exaudiat te Dominus.

A prayer for the king.

19:1. Unto the end. A psalm for David.

19:2. May the Lord hear thee in the day of tribulation: may the name of
the God of Jacob protect thee.

19:3. May he send thee help from the sanctuary: and defend thee outof
Sion.

19:4. May he be mindful of all thy sacrifices: and may thy whole
burntoffering be made fat.

19:5. May he give thee according to thy own heart; and confirm all thy
counsels.

19:6. We will rejoice in thy salvation; and in the name of our God we
shall be exalted.

19:7. The Lord fulfil all thy petitions: now have I known that the Lord
hath saved his anointed. He will hear him from his holy heaven: the
salvation of his right hand is in powers.

The salvation of his right hand is in powers... That is, in strength.
His right hand is strong and mighty to save them that trust in him.

19:8. Some trust in chariots, and some in horses: but we will call upon
the name of the Lord, our God.

19:9. They are bound, and have fallen: but we are risen, and are set
upright. O Lord, save the king: and hear us in the day that we shall
call upon thee.

Psalms Chapter 20

Domine, in virtute.

Praise to God for Christ's exaltation after his passion.

20:1. Unto the end. A psalm for David.

20:2. In thy strength, O Lord, the king shall joy; and in thy salvation
he shall rejoice exceedingly.

20:3. Thou hast given him his heart's desire: and hast not withholden
from him the will of his lips.

20:4. For thou hast prevented him with belssings of sweetness: thou hast
set on his head a crown of precious stones.

20:5. He asked life of thee: and thou hast given him length of days for
ever and ever.

20:6. His glory is great in thy salvation: glory and great beauty shalt
thou lay upon hom.

20:7. For thou shalt give him to be a blessing for ever and ever: thou
shalt make him joyful in gladness with thy countenance.

20:8. For the king hopeth in the Lord: andthrough the mercy of the most
High he whall not be moved.

20:9. Let thy hand be found by all thy enemies: let thy right hand find
out all them that hate thee.

20:10. Thou shalt make them as an oven of fire, in the time of thy
anger: the Lord shall trouble them in his wrath, and fire shall devour
them.

20:11. Their fruit shalt thou destroy from the earth: and their seed
from among the children of men.

20:12. For they have intended evils against thee: they have devised
counsels which they have not been able to establish.

20:13. For thou shalt make them turn their back: in thy remnants thou
shalt prepare their face.

In thy remnants thou shalt prepare their face... Or thou shalt set thy
remnants against their faces. That is, thou shalt make them see what
punishments remain for them hereafter from thy justice. Instead of
remnants, St. Jerome renders it funes, that is, cords or strings, viz.,
of the bow of divine justice, from which God directs his arrows against
the faces of his enemies.

20:14. Be thou exalted, O Lord, in thy own strength: we will sing and
praise thy power.

Psalms Chapter 21

Deus Deus meus.

Christ's passion: and the conversion of the Gentiles.

21:1. Unto the end, for the morning protection, a psalm for David.

21:2. O God my God, look upon me: why hast thou forsaken me? Far from my
salvation are the words of my sins.

The words of my sins... That is, the sins of the world, which I have
taken upon myself, cry out against me, and are the cause of all my
sufferings.

21:3. O my God, I shall cry by day, and thou wilt not hear: and by
night, and it shall not be reputed as folly in me.

21:4. But thou dwellest in the holy place, the praise of Israel.

21:5. In thee have our fathers hoped: they have hoped, and thou hast
delivered them.

21:6. They cried to thee, and they were saved: they trusted in thee, and
were not confounded.

21:7. Bukt I am a worm, and no man: the reproach of men, and the outcast
of the prople.

21:8. All they that saw me have laughed me to scorn: they have spoken
with the lips, and wagged the head.

21:9. He hoped in the Lord, let him deliver him: let him save him,
seeing he delighteth in him.

21:10. For thou art he that hast drawn me out of the womb: my hope from
the breasts of my mother.

21:11. I was cast upon thee from the womb. From my mother's womb thou
art my God,

21:12. Depart not from me. For tribulation is very near: for there is
none to help me.

21:13. Many calves have surrounded me: fat bulls have besieged me.

21:14. They have opened their mouths against me, as a lion ravening and
roaring.

21:15. I am poured out like water; and all my bones are scattered. My
heart is become like wax melting in the midast of my bowels.

21:16. My strength is dried up like a potsherd, and my tongue hath
cleaved to my jaws: and thou hast brought me down into the dust of
death.

21:17. For many dogs have encompassed me: the council of the malignant
hath besieged me. They have dug my hands and feet.

21:18. They have numbered all my bones. And they have looked and stared
upon me.

21:19. They lparted my garments amongst them; and upon my vesture they
cast lots.

21:20. But thou, O Lord, remove not thy help to a distance from me; look
towards my defence.

21:21. Deliver, O God, my soul from the sword: my only one from the hand
of the dog.

21:22. Save me from the lion's mouth; and my lowness from the horns of
the unicorns.

21:23. I will declare thy name to my brethren: in the midst of the
church will I praise thee.

21:24. Ye that fear the Lord, praise him: all ye the seed of Jacob,
glorify him.

21:25. Let all the seed of Israel fear him: because he hath not slighted
nor despised the supplication of the poor man. Neither hath he turned
away his face form me: and when I cried to him he heard me.

21:26. With thee is my praise in a great church: I will pay my vows in
the sight of them that fear him.

21:27. The poor shall eat and shall be filled: and they shall praise the
Lord that seek him: their hearts shall live for ever and ever.

21:28. All the ends of the earth shall remember, and shall be converted
to the Lord: And all the kindreds of the Gentiles shall adore in his
sight.

21:29. For the kingdom is the Lord's; and he shall have dominion over
the nations.

21:30. All the fat ones of the earth have eaten and have adored: all
they that go down to the earth shall fall before him.

21:31. And to him my soul shall live: and my seed shall serve him.

21:32. There shall be declared to the Lord a generation to come: and the
heavens shall shew forth his justice to a people that shall be born,
which the Lord hath made.

Psalms Chapter 22

Dominus regit me.

God's spiritual benefits to faithful souls.

22:1. A psalm for David. The Lord ruleth me: and I shall want nothing.

Ruleth me... In Hebrew, Is my shepherd, viz., to feed, guide, and govern
me.

22:2. He hath set me in a place of pasture. He hath brought me up, on
the water of refreshment:

22:3. He hath converted my soul. He hath led me on the paths of justice,
for his own name's sake.

22:4. For though I should walk in the midst of the shadow of death, I
will fear no evils, for thou art with me. Thy rod and thy staff, they
have comforted me.

22:5. Thou hast prepared a table before me against them that afflict me.
Thou hast anointed my head with oil; and my chalice which inebreateth
me, how goodly is it!

22:6. And thy mercy will follow me all the days of my life. And that I
may dwell in the house of the Lord unto length of days.

Psalms Chapter 23

Domini est terra.

Who are they that shall ascend to heaven: Christ's triumphant ascension
thither.

23:1. On the first day of the week, a psalm for David. The earth is the
Lord's and the fulness thereof: the world, and all they that dwell
therein.

23:2. For he hath founded it upon the seas; and hath prepared it upon
the rivers.

23:3. Who shall ascend into the mountain of the Lord: or who shall stand
in his holy place?

23:4. The innocent in hands, and clean of heart, who hath not taken his
soul in vain, nor sworn deceitfully to his neighbour.

23:5. He shall receive a blessing from the Lord, and mercy from God his
Saviour.

23:6. This is the generation of them that seek him, of them that seek
the face of the God of Jacob.

23:7. Lift up your gates, O ye lprinces, and be ye lifted up, O eternal
gates: and the King of Glory shall enter in.

23:8. Who is this King of Glory? the Lord who is strong and mighty: the
Lord mighty in battle.

23:9. Lift up your gates, O ye princes, and be ye lifted up, O eternal
gates: and the King of Glory shall enter in.

23:10. Who is this King of Glory? the Lord of hosts, he is the King of
Glory.

Psalms Chapter 24

Ad te, Domine, levavi.

A prayer for grace, mercy, and protection against our enemies.

24:1. Unto the end, a psalm for David. To thee, O Lord, have I lifted up
my soul.

24:2. In thee, O my God, I put my trust; let me not be ashamed.

24:3. Neither let my enemies laugh at me: for none of them that wait on
thee shall be confounded.

24:4. Let all them be confounded that act unjust things without cause.
Shew, O Lord, thy ways to me, and teach me thy paths.

24:5. Direct me in thy truth, and teach me; for thou art God my Saviour;
and on thee have I waited all the day long.

24:6. Remember, O Lor, thy bowels of compassion; and thy mercies that
are from the beginning of the world.

24:7. The sins of my youth and my ignorances do not remember. According
to thy mercy remember thou me: for thy goodness' sake, O Lord.

24:8. The Lord is sweet and righteous: therefore he will give a law to
sinners in the way.

24:9. He will guide themild in judgment: he will teach the meek his
ways.

24:10. All the ways of the Lord are mercy and truth, to them that seek
after his covenant and his testimonies.

24:11. For thy name's sake, O Lrod, thou wilt pardon my sin: for it is
great.

24:12. Who is the man that feareth the Lord? He hath appointed him a law
in the way he hath chosen.

24:13. His soul shall dwell in good things: and his seed shall inherit
the land.

24:14. The Lord is a firmament to them that fear him: and his covenant
shall be made manifest to them.

24:15. My eyes are ever towards the Lord: for he shall pluck my feet out
of the snare.

24:16. Look thou upon me, and have mercy on me; for I am alone and poor.

24:17. The troubles of my heart are multiplied: deliver me from my
necessities.

24:18. See my abjection and my labour; and forgive me all my sins.

24:19. Consider my enemies for they are multiplied, and have hated me
with an unjust hatred.

24:20. Deep thou my soul, and deliver me: I shall not be ashamed, for I
have hoped in thee.

24:21. The innocent and the upright have adhered to me: because I have
waited on thee.

24:22. Deliver Israel, O God, from all his tribulations.

Psalms Chapter 25

Judica me, Domine.

David's prayer to God in his distress, to be delivered, that he may come
to worship him in his tabernacle.

25:1. Unto the end, a psalm for David. Judge me, O Lord, for I have
walked in my innocence: and I have put my trust in the Lord, and shall
not be weakened.

25:2. Prove me, O Lord, and try me; burn my reins and my heart.

25:3. For thy mercy is before my eyes; and I am well pleased with thy
truth.

25:4. I have not sat with the council of vanity: neither will I go in
with the doers of unjust things.

25:5. I have hated the assembly of the malignant; and with the wicked I
will not sit.

25:6. I will wash my hands among the innocent; and will compass thy
altar, O Lord:

25:7. That I may hear the voice of thy praise: and tell of all thy
wondrous works.

25:8. I have loved, O Lord, the beauty of thy house; and the place where
thy glory dwelleth.

25:9. Take not away my soul, O God, with the wicked: nor my life with
bloody men:

25:10. In whose hands are iniquities: their right hand is filled with
gifts.

25:11. But as for me, I have walked in my innocence: redeem me, and have
mercy on me.

25:12. My foot hath stood in the direct way: in the churches I will
bless thee, O Lord.

Psalms Chapter 26

Dominus illuminatio.

David's faith and hope in God.

26:1. The psalm of David before he was anointed. The Lord is my light
and my salvation, whom shall I fear? The Lord is the protector of my
life: of whom shall I be afraid?

26:2. Whilst the wicked draw near against me, to eat my flesh. My
enemies that trouble me, have themselves been weakened, and have fallen.

26:3. If armies in camp should stand to gether against me, my heart
shall not fear. If a battle should rise up against me, in this will I be
confident.

26:4. One thing I have asked of the Lord, this will I seek after; that I
may dwell in the house of the Lord all the days of my life. That I may
see the delight of the Lord, and may visit his temple.

26:5. For he hath hidden me in his tabernacle; in the day of evils, he
hath protected me in the secret place of his tabernacle.

26:6. He hath exalted me upon a rock: and now he hath lifted up my head
above my enemies. I have gone round, and have offered up in his
tabernacle a sacrifice of jubilation: I will sing, and recite a psalm to
the Lord.

26:7. Hear, O Lord, my voice, with which I have cried to thee: have
mercy on me and hear me.

26:8. My heart hath said to thee: My face hath sought thee: thy face, O
Lord, will I still seek.

26:9. Turn not away thy face from me; decline not in thy wrath from thy
servant. Be thou my helper, forsake me not; do not thou despise me, O
God my Saviour.

26:10. For my father and my mother have left me: but the Lord hath taken
me up.

26:11. Set me, O Lord, a law in thy way, and guide me in the right path,
because of my enemies.

26:12. Deliver me not over to the will of them that trouble me; for
unjust witnesses have risen up against me; and iniquity hath lied to
itself.

26:13. I believe to see the good things of the Lord in the land of the
living.

26:14. Expect the Lord, do manfully, and let thy heart take courage, and
wait thou for the Lord.

Psalms Chapter 27

Ad te, Domine, clamabo.

David's prayer that his enemies may not prevail over him.

27:1. A psalm for David himself. Unto thee will I cry, O Lord: O my God,
be not thou silent to me: lest if thou be silent to me, I become like
them that go down into the pit.

27:2. Hear, O Lord, the voice of my supplication, when I pray to thee;
when I lift up my hands to thy holy temple.

27:3. Draw me not away together with the wicked; and with the workers of
iniquity destroy me not: Who speak peace with their neighbour, but evils
are in their hearts.

27:4. Give them according to their works, and according to the
wickedness of their inventions. According to the works of their hands
give thou to them: render to them their reward.

27:5. Because they have not understood the works of the Lord, and the
operations of his hands: thou shalt destroy them, and shalt not build
them up.

27:6. Blessed be the Lord, for he hath heard the voice of my
supplication.

27:7. The Lord is my helper andmy protector: in him hath my heart
confided, and I have been helped. And my flesh hath flourished again,
and with my will I will give praise to him.

27:8. The Lord is the strength of his people, and the protector of the
salvation of his anointed.

27:9. Save, O Lord, thy people, and bless thy inheritance: and rule them
and exalt them for ever.

Psalms Chapter 28

Afferte Domino.

An invitation to glorify God, with a commemoration of his mighty works.

28:1. A psalm for David, at the finishing of the tabernacle. Bring to
the Lord, O ye children of God: bring to the Lord the offspring of rams.

28:2. Bring to the Lord glory and honour: bring to the Lord glory to his
name: adore ye the Lord in his holy court.

28:3. The voice of the Lord is upon the waters; the God of majesty hath
thundered, The Lord is upon many waters.

28:4. The voice of the Lord is in power; the voice of the Lord in
magnificence.

28:5. The voice of the Lord breaketh the cedars: yea, the Lord shall
break the cedars of Libanus.

28:6. And shall reduce them to pieces, as a calf of Libanus, and as the
beloved son of unicorns.

Shall reduce them to pieces, etc... In Hebrew, shall make them to skip
like a calf. The psalmist here describes the effects of thunder (which
he calls the voice of the Lord) which sometimes breaks down the tallest
and strongest trees; and makes their broken branches skip, etc. All this
is to be understood mystically of the powerful voice of God's word in
his church; which has broken the pride of the great ones of this world,
and brought many of them meekly and joyfully to submit their necks to
the sweet yoke of Christ.

28:7. The voice of the Lord divideth the flame of fire:

28:8. The voice of the Lord shaketh the desert: and the Lord shall shake
the desert of Cades.

28:9. The voice of the Lord prepareth the stags: and he will discover
the thick woods: and in his temple all shall speak his glory.

28:10. The Lord maketh the flood to dwell: and the Lord shall sit king
for ever. The Lord will give strength to his people: the Lord will bless
his people with peace.

Psalms Chapter 29

Exaltabo te, Domine.

David praiseth God for his deliverance, and his merciful dealings with
him.

29:1. A psalm of a canticle, at the dedication of David's house.

29:2. I will extol thee, O Lord, for thou hast upheld me: and hast not
made my enemies to rejoice over me.

29:3. O Lord my God, I have cried to thee, and thou hast healed me.

29:4. Thou hast brought forth, O Lord, my soul from hell: thou hast
saved me from them that go down into the pit.

29:5. Sing to the Lord, O ye his saints: and give praise to the memory
of his holiness.

29:6. For wrath is in his indignation; and life in his good will. In the
evening weeping shall have place, and in the morning gladness.

29:7. And in my abundance I said: I shall never be moved.

29:8. O Lord, in thy favour, thou gavest strength to my beauty. Thou
turnedst away thy face from me, and I became troubled.

29:9. To thee, O Lord, will I cry: and I will make supplication to my
God.

29:10. What profit is there in my blood, whilst I go down to corruption?
Shall dust confess to thee, or declare thy truth?

29:11. The Lord hath heard, and hath had mercy on me: the Lord became my
helper.

29:12. Thou hast turned for me my mourning into joy: thou hast cut my
sackcloth, and hast compassed me with gladness:

29:13. To the end that my glory may sing to thee, and I may not regret:
O Lord my God, I will give praise to thee for ever.

Psalms Chapter 30

In te, Domine, speravi.

A prayer of a just man under affliction.


30:1. Unto the end, a psalm for David, in an ecstasy.

30:2. In thee, O Lord, have I hoped, let me never be confounded: deliver
me in thy justice.

30:3. Bow down thy ear to me: make haste to deliver me. Be thou unto me
a God, a protector, and a house of refuge, to save me.

30:4. For thou art my strength and my refuge; and for thy name's sake
thou wilt lead me, and nourish me.

30:5. Thou wilt bring me out of this snare, which they have hidden for
me: for thou art my protector.

30:6. Into thy hands I commend my spirit: thou hast redeemed me, O Lord,
the God of truth.

30:7. Thou hast hated them that regard vanities, to no purpose. But I
have hoped in the Lord:

30:8. I will be glad and rejoice in thy mercy. For thou hast regarded my
humility, thou hast saved my soul out of distresses.

30:9. And thou hast not shut me up in the hands of the enemy: thou hast
set my feet in a spacious place.

30:10. Have mercy on me, O Lord, for I am afflicted: my eye is troubled
with wrath, my soul, and my belly:

30:11. For my life is wasted with grief: and my years in sighs. My
strength is weakened through poverty and my bones are disturbed.

30:12. I am become a reproach among all my enemies, and very much to my
neighbours; and a fear to my acquaintance. They that saw me without fled
from me.

30:13. I am forgotten as one dead from the heart. I am become as a
vessel that is destroyed.

30:14. For I have heard the blame of many that dwell round about. While
they assembled together against me, they consulted to take away my life.

30:15. But I have put my trust in thee, O Lord: I said: Thou art my God.

30:16. My lots are in thy hands. Deliver me out of the hands of my
enemies; and from them that persecute me.

30:17. Make thy face to shine upon thy servant; save me in thy mercy.

30:18. Let me not be confounded, O Lord, for I have called upon thee.
Let the wicked be ashamed, and be brought down to hell.

30:19. Let deceitful lips be made dumb. Which speak iniquity against the
just, with pride and abuse.

30:20. O how great is the multitude of thy sweetness, O Lord, which thou
hast hidden for them that fear thee! Which thou hast wrougth for them
that hope inthee, in the sight of the sons of men.

30:21. Thou shalt hide them in the secret of thy face, from the
disturbance of men. Thoushalt protect them in thy tabernacle form the
contradiction of tongues.

30:22. Blessed be the Lord, for he hath shewn his wonderful mercy to me
in a fortified city.

30:23. But I said in the excess of my mind: I am cast away from before
thy eyes. Therefore thou hast heard the voice of my prayer, when I cried
to thee.

30:24. O love the Lord, all ye his saints: for the Lord will require
truth, and will repay them abundantly that act proudly.

30:25. Do ye manfully, and let your heart be strengthened, all ye that
hope in the Lord.

Psalms Chapter 31

Beati quorum.

The second penitential psalm.

31:1. To David himself, understanding. Blessed are they whose iniquities
are forgiven, and whose sins are covered.

31:2. Blessed is the man to whom the Lord hath not inputed sin, and in
whose spirit there is no guile.

31:3. Because I was silent my bones grew old; whilst I cried out all the
day long.

Because I was silent, etc... That is, whilst I kept silence, by
concealing, or refusing to confess my sins, thy hand was heavy upon me,
etc.

31:4. For day and night thy hand was heavy upon me: I am turned in my
anguish, whilst the thorn is fastened.

I am turned, etc... That is, I turn and roll about in my bed to seek for
ease in my pain whilst the thorn of thy justice pierces my flesh, and
sticks fast in me. Or, I am turned: that is, I am converted to thee, my
God, by being brought to a better understanding by thy chastisements. In
the Hebrew it is, my moisture is turned into the droughts of the summer.

31:5. I have acknowledged my sin to thee, and my injustice I have not
concealed. I said I will confess against my self my injustice to the
Lord: and thou hast forgiven the wickedness of my sin.

31:6. For this shall every one that is holy pray to thee in a seasonable
time. And yet in a flood of many waters, they shall not come nigh unto
him.

31:7. Thou art my fefuge from the trouble which hath eencompassed me: my
joy, deliver me from them that surround me.

31:8. I will give thee understanding, and I will instruct thee in this
way, in which thou shalt go: I will fix my eyes upon thee.

31:9. Do not become like the horse and the mule, who have no
understanding. With bit and bridle bind fast their jaws, who come not
near unto thee.

31:10. Many are the scourges of the sinner, but mercy shall encompass
him that hopeth in the Lord.

31:11. Be glad in the Lord, and rejoice, ye just, and glory, all ye
right of heart.

Psalms Chapter 32

Exultate, justi.

An exhortation to praise God, and to trust in him.

32:1. A psalm for David. Rejoice in the Lord, O ye just: praise becometh
the upright.

32:2. Give praise to the Lord on the harp; sing to him with the
psaltery, the instrument of ten strings.

32:3. Sing to him a new canticle, sing well unto him with a loud noise.

32:4. For the word of the Lord is right, and all his works are done with
faithfulness.

32:5. He loveth mercy and judgment; the earth is full of the mercy of
the Lord.

32:6. By the word of the Lord the heavens were established; and all the
power of them by the spirit of his mouth:

32:7. Gathering together the waters of the sea, as in a vessel; laying
up the depths in storehouses.

32:8. Let all the earth fear the Lord, and let all the inhabitants of
the world be in awe of him.

32:9. For he spoke and they were made: he commanded and they were
created.

32:10. The Lord bringeth to nought the counsels of nations; and he
rejecteth the devices of people, and casteth away the counsels of
princes.

32:11. But the counsel of the Lord standeth for ever: the thoughts of
his heart to all generations.

32:12. Blessed is the nation whose God is the Lord: the people whom he
hath chosen for his inheritance.

32:13. The Lord hath looked from heaven: he hath beheld all the sons of
men.

32:14. From his habitation which he hath prepared, he hath looked upon
all that dwell on the earth.

32:15. He who hath made the hearts of every one of them: who
understandeth all their works.

32:16. The king is not saved by a great army: nor shall the giant be
saved by his own great strength.

32:17. Vain is the horse for safety: neither shall he be saved by the
abundance of his strength.

32:18. Behold the eyes of the Lord are on them that fear him: and on
them that hope in his mercy.

32:19. To deliver their souls from death; and feed them in famine.

32:20. Our soul waiteth for the Lord: for he is our helper and
protector.

32:21. For in him our heart shall rejoice: and in his holy name we have
trusted.

32:22. Let thy mercy, O Lord, be upon us, as we have hooped in thee.

Psalms Chapter 33

Benedicam Dominum.

An exhortation to the praise, and service of God.

33:1. For David, when he changed his countenance before Achimelech, who
dismissed him, and he went his way. [1 Kings 21.]

33:2. I will belss the Lord at all times, his praise shall be always in
my mouth.

33:3. In the Lord shall my soul be praised: let the meek hear and
rejoice.

33:4. O magnify the Lord with me; and let us extol his name together.

33:5. I sought the Lord, and he heard me; and he delivered me from all
my troubles.

33:6. Come ye to him and be enlightened: and your faces shall not be
confounded.

33:7. This poor man cried, and the Lord heard him: and saved him out of
all his troubles.

33:8. The angel of the Lord shall encamp round about them that fear him:
and shall deliver them.

33:9. O taste, and see that the Lord is sweet: blessed is the man that
hopeth in him.

33:10. Fear the Lord, all ye his saints: for there is no want to them
that fear him.

33:11. The rich have wanted, and have suffered hunger: but they that
seek the Lord shall not be deprived of any good.

33:12. Come, children, hearken to me: I will teach you the fear of the
Lord.

33:13. Who is the man that desireth life: who liveth to see good days?

33:14. Keep thy tongue form evil, and thy lips from speaking guile.

33:15. Tkurn away from evil and do good: seek after peace and pursue it.

33:16. The eyes of the Lord are upon the just: and his ears unto their
prayers.

33:17. But the countenance of the Lord is against them that do evil
things: to cut off the remembrance of them from the earth.

33:18. The just cried, and the Lord heard them: and delivered them out
of all their troubles.

33:19. The Lord is nigh unto them that are of a contrite heart: and he
will save the humble of spirit.

33:20. Many are the afflictions of the just; but out of them all will
the Lord deliver them.

33:21. The Lord is nigh unto them that are of a contrite heart: and he
will save the humble of spirit.

33:22. The death of the wicked is very evil: and they that hate the just
shall be guilty.

33:23. The Lord will redeem the souls of his servants: and none of them
that trust in him shall offend.

Psalms Chapter 34

Judica, Domine, nocentes me.

David, in the person of Christ, prayeth against his persecutors:
prophetecally foreshewing the punishments that shall fall upon them.

34:1. For David himself. Judge thou, O Lord, them that wrong me:
overthrow them that fight against me.

34:2. Take hold of arms and shield: and rise up to help me.

34:3. Bring out the sword, and shut up the way against them that
persecute me: say to my soul: I am thy salvation.

34:4. Let them be confounded and ashamed that seek after my soul. Let
them be turned back and be confounded that devise evil against me.

34:5. Let them become as dust before the wind: and let the angel of the
Lord straiten them.

34:6. Let their way become dark and slippery; and let the angel of the
Lord pursue them.

34:7. For without cause they have hidden their net for me unto
destruction: without cause they have upbraided my soul.

34:8. Let the snae which he knoweth not come upon him: and let the net
which he hath hidden catch him: and into that very snare let them fall.

34:9. But my soul shall rejoice in the Lord; and shall be delighted in
his salvation.

34:10. All my bones shall say: Lord, who is like to thee? Who deliverest
the poor from the hand of them that are stronger than he; the needy and
the poor from them that strip him.

34:11. Unjust witnesses rising up have asked me things I knew not.

34:12. They repaid me evil for good: to the depriving me of my soul.

34:13. But as for me, when they were troublesome to me, I was clothed
with haircloth. I humbled my soul with fasting; and my prayer shall be
turned into my bosom.

34:14. As a neighbour and as an own brother, so did I please: as one
mourning and sorrowful so was I humbled.

34:15. But they rejoiced against me, and came together: scourges were
gathered together upon me, and I knew not.

34:16. They were separated, and repented not: they tempted me, they
scoffed at me with scorn: they gnashed ukpon me with their teeth.

34:17. Lord, when wilt thou look upon me? rescue thou my soul from their
malice: my only one from the lions.

34:18. I will give thanks to thee in a great church; I will praise thee
in a strong people.

34:19. Let not them that are my enemies wrongfully rejoice over me: who
have hated me without cause, and wink with the eyes.

34:20. For they spoke indeed peaceably to me; and speaking in the anger
of the earth they devised guile.

34:21. And they opened their mouth wide against me; they said: Well
done, well done, our eyes have seen it.

34:22. Thou hast seen, O Lord, be not thou silent: O Lord, depart not
from me.

34:23. Arise, and be attentive to my judgment: to my cause, my God, and
my Lord.

34:24. Judge me, O Lord my God according to thy justice, and let them
not rejoice over me.

34:25. Let them not say in their hearts: It is well, it is well, to our
mind: neither let them say: We have swallowed him up.

34:26. Let them blush: and be ashamed to gether, who rejoice at my
evils. Let them be clothed with confusion and shame, who speak great
things against me.

34:27. Let them rejoice and be glad, who are well pleased with my
justice, and let them say always: The Lord be magnified, who delights in
the peace of his servant.

34:28. And my tongue shall meditate thy justice, thy praise all the day
long.

Psalms Chapter 35

Dixit injustus.

The malice of sinners, and the goodness of God.

35:1. Unto the end, for the servant of God, David himself.

35:2. The unjust hath said within himself, that he would sin: there is
no fear of God before his eyes.

35:3. For in his sight he hath done deceitfully, that his iniquity may
be found unto hatred.

Unto hatred... That is, hateful to God.

35:4. The words of his mouth are iniquity and guile: he would not
understand that he might do well.

35:5. He hath devised iniquity on his bed, he hath set himself on every
way that is not good: but evil he hath not hated.

35:6. O Lord, thy mercy is in heaven, and thy truth reacheth even to the
clouds.

35:7. Thy justice is as the mountains of God, thy judgments are a great
deep. Men and beasts thou wilt preserve, O Lord:

35:8. O how hast thou multiplied thy mercy, O God! But the children of
men shall put their trust under the covert of thy wings.

35:9. They shall be inebriated with the plenty of thy house; and thou
shalt make them drink of the torrent of thy pleasure.

35:10. For with thee is the fountain of life; and in thy light we shall
see light.

35:11. Extend thy mercy to them that know thee, and thy justice to them
that are right in heart.

35:12. Let not the foot of pride come to me, and let not the hand of the
sinner move me.

35:13. There the workers of iniquity are fallen, they are cast out, and
could not stand.

Psalms Chapter 36

Noli aemulari.

An exhortation to despise this world; and the short prosperity of the
wicked; and to trust in Providence.

36:1. Be not emulous of evildoers; nor envy them that work iniquity.

36:2. For they shall shortly wither away as grass, and as the green
herbs shall quickly fall.

36:3. Trust in the Lord, and do good, and dwell in the land, and thou
shalt be fed with its riches.

36:4. Delight in the Lord, and he will give thee the requests of thy
heart.

36:5. Commit thy way to the Lord, and trust in him, and he will do it.

36:6. And he will bring forth thy justice as the light, and thy judgment
as the noonday.

36:7. Be subject to the Lord and pray to him. Envy not the man who
prospereth in his way; the man who doth unjust things.

36:8. Cease from anger, and leave rage; have no emulation to do evil.

36:9. For evildoers shall be cut off: but they that wait upon the Lord,
they shall inherit the land.

36:10. For yet a little while, and the wicked shall not be: and thou
shalt seek his place, and shalt not find it.

36:11. But the meek shall inherit the land, and shall delight in
abundance of peace.

36:12. The sinner shall watch the just man: and shall gnash upon him
with his teeth.

36:13. But the Lord shall laugh at him: for he foreseeth that his day
shall come.

36:14. The wicked have drawn out the sword: they have bent their bow. To
cast down the poor and needy, to kill the upright of heart.

36:15. Let their sword enter into their own hearts, andlet their bow be
broken.

36:16. Better is a little to the just, than the great riches of the
wicked.

36:17. For the arms of the wicked shall be broken in pieces; but the
Lord strengtheneth the just.

36:18. The Lord knoweth the days of the undefiled; and their inheritance
shall be for ever.

36:19. They shall not be confounded in the evil time; and in the days of
famine they shall be filled:

36:20. Because the wicked shall perish. And the enemies of the Lord,
presently after they shall be honoured and exalted, shall come to
nothing and vanish like smoke.

36:21. The sinner shall borrow, and not pay again; but the just sheweth
mercy and shall give.

36:22. For such as bless him shall inherit the land: but such as curse
him shall perish.

36:23. With the Lord shall the steps of a man be directed, and he shall
like well his way.

36:24. When he shall fall he shall not be bruised, for the Lord putteth
his hand under him.

36:25. I have been young and now am old; and I have not seen the just
forsaken, nor his seed seeking bread.

36:26. He sheweth mercy, and lendeth all the day long; and his seed
shall be in blessing.

36:27. Decline from evil and do good, and dwell for ever and ever.

36:28. For the Lord loveth judgment, and will not forsake his saints:
they shall be preserved for ever. The unjust shall be punished, and the
seed of the wicked shall perish.

36:29. But the just shall inherit the land, and shall dwell therein for
evermore.

36:30. The mouth of the just shall meditate wisdom: and his tongue shall
speak judgment.

36:31. The law of his God is in his heart, and his steps shall not be
supplanted.

36:32. The wicked watcheth the just man, and seeketh to put him to
death,

36:33. But the Lord will not leave him in his hands; nor condemn him
when he shall be judged.

36:34. Expect the Lord and keep his way: and he will exalt thee to
inherit the land: when the sinners shall perish thou shalt see.

36:35. I have seen the wicked highly exalted, and lifted ukp like the
cedars of Libanus.

36:36. And I passed by, and lo, he was not: and I sought him and his
place was not found.

36:37. Keep innocence, and behold justice: for there are remnants for
the peaceable man.

36:38. But the unjust shall be destroyed to gether: the remnants of the
wicked shall perish.

36:39. But the salvation of the just is from the Lord, and he is their
protector in the time of trouble.

36:40. And the Lord will help them and deliver them: and he will rescue
them from the wicked, and save them because they have hoped in him.

Psalms Chapter 37

Domine, ne in furore.

A prayer of a penitent for the remission of his sins. The third
penitential psalm.

37:1. A psalm for David, for a remembrance of the sabbath.

For a remembrance... Viz., of our miseries and sins: and to be sung on
the sabbath day.

37:2. Rebuke me not, O Lord, in thy indignation; nor chastise me in thy
wrath.

37:3. For thy arrows are fastened in me: and thy hand hath been strong
upon me.

37:4. There is no health in my flesh, because of thy wrath: there is no
peace for my bones, because of my sins.

37:5. For my iniquities are gone over my head: and as a heavy burden are
become heavy upon me.

37:6. My sores are putrified and corrupted, because of my foolishness.

37:7. I am bcome miserable, and am bowed down even to the end: I walked
sorrowfull all the day long.

37:8. For my loins are filled with illusions; and there isno health in
my flesh.

37:9. I am afflicted and humbled exceedingly: I roared with the groaning
of my heart.

37:10. Lord, all my desire is before thee, and my groaning is not hidden
from thee.

37:11. My heart is troubled, my strength hath left me, and the light of
my eyes itself is not with me.

37:12. My friends and my neighbours have drawn near, and stood against
me. And they that were near me stood afar off:

37:13. And they that sought my soul used violence. And they that sought
evils to me spoke vain things, and studied deceits all the day long.

37:14. But I, as a deaf man, heard not: and as a dumb man not opening
his mouth.

37:15. And I became as a man that heareth not: and that hath no reproofs
in his mouth.

37:16. For in thee, O Lord, have I hoped: thou wilt hear me, O Lord my
God.

37:17. For I said: Lest at any time my enemies rejoice over me: and
whilst my feet are moved, they speak great things against me.

37:18. For I am ready for scourges: and my sorrow is continually before
me.

37:19. For I will declare my iniquity: and I will think formy sin.

37:20. But my enemies live, and are stronger than I: and they that hate
me wrongfully are ultiplied.

37:21. They that render evil for good, have detracted me, because I
followed goodness.

37:22. For sake me not, O Lord my God: do not thou depart from me.

37:23. Attend unto my help, O Lord, the God of my salvation.

Psalms Chapter 38

Dixi custodiam.

A just man's peace and patience in his sufferings; considering the
vanity of the world, and the providence of God.

38:1. Unto the end, for Idithun himself, a canticle of David.

38:2. I said: I will take heed to my ways: that I sin not with my
tongue. I have set a guard to my mouth, when the sinner stood against
me.

38:3. I was dumb, and was humbled, and kept silence from good things:
and my sorrow was renewed.

38:4. My heart grew hot within me: and in my meditqation a fire shall
flame out.

38:5. I spoke with my tongue: O Lord, make me know my end. And what is
the number of my days: that I may know what is wanting to me.

38:6. Behold thou hast made my days measurable and my substance is as
nothing before thee. And indeed all things are vantiy: every man living.

38:7. Surely man passeth as an image: yea, and he is disquieted in vain.
He storeth up: and he knoweth not for whom he shall gather these things.

38:8. And now what is my hope? is it not the Lord? and my substance is
with thee.

38:9. Deliver thou me from all my iniquities: thou hast made me a
reproach to the fool.

38:10. I was dumb, and I opened not my mouth, because thou hast done it.

38:11. Remove thy scourges from me. The strength of thy hand hath made
me faint in rebukes:

38:12. Thou hast corrected man for iniquity. And thou hast made his soul
to waste away like a spider: surely in vain is any man disquieted.

38:13. Hear my prayer, O Lord, and my supplication: give ear to my
tears. Be no silent: for I am a stranger with thee, and a sojourner as
all my fathers were.

38:14. O forgive me, that I may be refreshed, before I go hence, and be
no more.

Psalms Chapter 39

Expectans expectavi.

Christ's coming, and redeeming mankind.

39:1. Unto the end, a psalm for David himself.

39:2. With expectation I have waited for the Lord, and he was attentive
to me.

39:3. And he heard my prayers, and brought me out of the pit of misery
and the mire of dregs. And he set my feet upon a rock, and directed my
steps.

39:4. And he put a new canticle into my mouth, a song to our God. Many
shall see, and shall fear: and they shall hope in the Lord.

39:5. Blessed is the man whose trust is in the name of the Lord; and who
hath not had regard to vanities, and lying follies.

39:6. Thou hast multiplied thy wonderful works, O Lord my God: and in
thy thoughts there is no one like to thee. I have declared and I have
spoken they are multiplied above number.

39:7. Sacrifice and oblation thou didst not desire; but thou hast
pierced ears for me. Burnt offering and sin offering thou didst not
require:

39:8. Then said I, Behold I come. In the head of the book it is written
of me

39:9. That I should do thy will: O my God, I have desired it, and thy
law in the midst of my heart.

39:10. I have declared thy justice in a great church, lo, I will not
restrain my lips: O Lord, thou knowest it.

39:11. I have not hid thy justice within my heart: I have declared thy
truth and thy salvation. I have not concealed thy mercy and thy truth
from a great council.

39:12. Withhold not thou, O Lord, thy tender mercies from me: thy mercy
and thy truth have always upheld me.

39:13. For evils without number have surrounded me; my iniquities have
overtaken me, and I was not able to see. They are multiplied above the
hairs of my head: and my heart hath forsaken me.

My iniquities... That is, the sins of all mankind, which I have taken
upon me.

39:14. Be pleased, O Lord, to deliver me. Look down, O Lord, to help me.

39:15. Let them be confounded and ashamed together, that seek after my
soul to take it away. Let them be turned backward and be ashamed that
desire evils to me.

39:16. Let them immediately bear their confusion, that say to me: 'T is
well, t' is well.

'T is well... The Hebrew here is an interjection of insult and derision,
like the Vah. Matt. 27.49.

39:17. Let all that seek thee rejoice and be glad in thee: and let such
as love thy salvation say always: The Lord be magnified.

39:18. But I am a beggar and poor: the Lord is careful for me. Thou art
my helper and my protector: O my God, be not slack.

Psalms Chapter 40

Beatus qui intelligit.

The happiness of him that shall believe in Christ; notwithstanding the
humility and poverty in which he shall come: the malice of his enemies,
especially of the traitor Judas.

40:1. Unto the end, a psalm for David himself.

40:2. Blessed is he that understandeth concerning the needy and the
poor: the Lord will deliver him in the evil day.

40:3. The Lord preserve him and give him life, and make him blessed upon
the earth: and deliver him not up to the will of his enemies.

40:4. The Lord help him on his bed of sorrow: thou hast turned all his
couch in his sickness.

40:5. I said: O Lord, be thou merciful to me: heal my soul, for I have
sinned against thee.

40:6. My enemies have spoken evils against me: when shall he die and his
name perish?

40:7. And if he came in to see me, he spoke vain things: his heart
gathered together iniquity to itself. He went out and spoke to the same
purpose.

40:8. All my enemies whispered together against me: they devised evils
to me.

40:9. They determined against me an unjust word: shall he that sleepeth
rise again no more?

40:10. For even the man of my peace, in whom I trusted, who ate my
bread, hath greatly supplanted me.

40:11. But thou, O Lord, have mercy on me, and raise my up again: and I
will requite them.

40:12. By this I know, that thou hast had a good will for me: because my
enemy shall not rejoice over me.

40:13. But thou hast upheldme by reason of my innocence: and hast
established me in thy sight for ever.

40:14. Blessed be the Lord the God of Israel from eternity to eternity.
So be it. So be it.

Psalms Chapter 41

Quemadmodum desiderat.

The fervent desire of the just after God: hope in afflictions.

41:1. Unto the end, understanding for the sons of Core.

41:2. As the hart panteth after the fountains of water; so my soul
panteth after thee, O God.

41:3. My soul hath thirsted after the strong living God; when shall I
come and appear before the face of God?

41:4. My tears have been my bread day and night, whilst it is said to me
daily: Where is thy God?

41:5. These things I remembered, and poured out my soul in me: for I
shall go over into the place of the wonderful tabernacle, even to the
house of God: With the voice of joy and praise; the noise of one
feasting.

41:6. Why art thou sad, O my soul? and why dost thou trouble me? Hope in
God, for I will still give praise to him: the salvation of my
countenance,

41:7. And my God. My soul is troubled within my self: therefore will I
remember thee from the land of Jordan and Hermoniim, from the little
hill.

41:8. Deep calleth on deep, at the noise of thy flood-gates. All thy
heights and thy billows have passed over me.

41:9. In the daytime the Lord hath commanded hismercy; and a canticle to
him in the night. With me is prayer to the God of my life.

41:10. I will say to God: Thou art my support. Why hast thou forgotten
me? and why go I mourning, whilst my enemy afflicteth me?

41:11. Whilst my bones are broken, my enemies who troubleme have
reproached me; Whilst they say to me day be day: Where is thy God?

41:12. Why art thou cast down, O my soul? and why dost thou disquiet me?
Hope thou in God, for I will still give praise to him: the salvation of
my countenance, and my God.

Psalms Chapter 42

Judica me, Deus.

The prophet aspireth after the temple and altar of God.

42:1. A psalm for David. Judge me, O God, and distinguish my cause from
the nation that is not holy: deliver me from the unjust and deceitful
man.

42:2. For thou art God my strrength: why hast thou cast me off? and why
do I go sorrowful whilst the enemy afflicteth me?

42:3. Sent forth thy light and thy truth: they have conducted me, and
brought me unto thy holy hill, and into thy tabernacles.

42:4. And I will go in to the altar of God: to God who giveth joy to my
youth.

42:5. To thee, O God my God, I will give praise upon the harp: why art
thou sad, O my soul? and why dost thou disquiet me?

42:6. Hope in God, for I will still give pralise to him: the salvation
of my countenance, and my God.

Psalms Chapter 43

Deus auribus nostris.

The church commemorates former favours, and present afflictions; under
which she prays for succour.

43:1. Unto the end, for the sons of Core, to give understanding.

43:2. We have heard, O God, with our ears: our fathers have declared to
us, The work thou hast wrought in their days, and in the days of old.

43:3. Thy hand destroyed the Gentiles, and thou plantedst them: thou
didst aflict the people and cast them out.

43:4. For they got not the possession of the land by their own sword:
neither did their own arm save them. But thy right hand and thy arm, and
the light of thy countenance: because thou wast pleased with them.

43:5. Thou art thyself my king andmy God, who commandest the saving of
Jacob.

43:6. Through thee we will push down our enemies with the horn: and
through thy name we will despise them that rise up against us.

43:7. For I will not trust in my bow: neither shall my sword save me.

43:8. But thou hast saved us from them that afflict us: and hast put
them to shame that hate us.

43:9. In God shall we glory all the day long: and in thy name we will
give praise for ever.

43:10. But now thou hast cast us off, and put us to shame: and thou,
O God, wilt not go out with our armies.

43:11. Thou hast made kus turn our back to our enemies: and they that
hated us plundered for themselves.

43:12. Thou hast given us up like sheep to be eaten: thou hast scattered
us among the nations.

43:13. Thou hast sold thy people for no price: and there was no
reckoning in the exchange of them.

43:14. Thou hast made us a reproach to our neighbours, a scoff and
derision to them that are round about us.

43:15. Thou hast made us a byword among the Gentiles: a shaking of the
head among the people.

43:16. All the day long my shame is before me: and the confusion of my
face hath covered me,

43:17. At the voice of him that reproacheth and detracteth me: at the
face of the enemy and persecutor.

43:18. All these things have come upon us, yet we have not forgotten
thee: and we have not done wickedly in thy covenant.

43:19. And our heart hath not turned back: neither hast thou turned
aside our steps from thy way.

43:20. For thou hast humbled us in the place of affliction: and the
shadow of death hath covered us.

43:21. If we have forgotten the name of our God, and if we have spread
forth our hands to a strange god:

43:22. Shall not God search out thesethings: for he knoweth the secrets
of the heart. Because for thy sake we are killed all the day long: we
are counted as sheep for the slaughter.

43:23. Arise, why sleepest thou, O Lord? arise, and cast us not off to
the end.

43:24. Why turnest thou thy face away? and forgettest our want and our
trouble?

43:25. For our soul is humbled down to the dust: our belly cleaveth to
the earth.

43:26. Arise, O Lord, help us and redeem us for thy name's sake.

Psalms Chapter 44

Eructavit cor meum.

The excellence of Christ's kingdom, and the endowments of his church.

44:1. Unto the end, for them that shall be changed, for the sons of
Core, for understanding. A canticle for the Beloved.

For them that shall be changed... i.e., for souls happily changed, by
being converted to God.-Ibid. The Beloved... Viz., Our Lord Jesus
Christ.

44:2. My heart hath uttered a good word: I speak my works to the king:
My tongue is the pen of a scrivener that writeth swiftly.

44:3. Thou art beautiful above the sons of men: grace is poured abroad
in thy lips; therefore hath God blessed thee for ever.

44:4. Gird thy sword upon thy thigh, O thou most mighty.

44:5. With thy comeliness and thy beauty set out, proceed prosperously,
and reign. Because of truth and meekness and justice: and thy right hand
shall conduct thee wonderfully.

44:6. Thy arrows are sharp: under thee shall people fall, into the
hearts of the king's enemies.

44:7. Thy throne, O God, is forever and ever: the sceptre of thy kingdom
is a sceptre of uprightness.

44:8. Thou hast loved justice, and hated iniquity: therefore God, thy
God, hath anointed thee with the oil of gladness above thy fellows.

44:9. Myrrh and stacte and cassia perfume thy garments, from the ivory
houses: out of which

44:10. The daughters of kings have delighted thee in thy glory. The
queen stood on thy right hand, in gilded clothing; surrounded with
variety.

44:11. Hearken, O daughter, and see, and incline thy ear: and forget thy
people and thy father's house.

44:12. And the king shall greatly desire thy beauty; for he is the Lord
thy God, and him they shall adore.

44:13. And the daughters of Tyre with gifts, yea, all the rich among the
people, shall entreat thy countenance.

44:14. All the glory of the king's daughter is within in golden borders,

44:15. Clothed round about with varieties. After her shall virgins be
brought to the king: her neighbours shall be brought to thee.

44:16. They shall be brought with gladness and rejoicing: they shall be
brought into the temple of the king.

44:17. Instead of thy fathers, sons are born to thee: thou shalt make
them princes over all the earth.

44:18. They shall remember thy name throughout all generations.
Therefore shall people praise thee for ever; yea, for ever and ever.

Psalms Chapter 45

Deus noster refugium.

The church in persecution trusteth in the protection of God.

45:1. Unto the end, for the sons of Core, for the hidden.

45:2. Our God is our refuge and strength: a helper in troubles, which
have found us exceedingly.

45:3. Therefore we will not fear, when the earth shall be troubled; and
the mountains shall be removed into the heart of the sea.

45:4. Their waters roared and were troubled: the mountains were troubled
with his strength.

45:5. The stream of the river maketh the city of God joyful: the most
High hath sanctified his own tabernacle.

45:6. God is in the midst thereof, it shall not be moved: God will help
it in the lmorning early.

45:7. Nations were troubled, and kingdoms were bowed down: he uttered
his voice, the earth trembled.

45:8. The Lord of armies is with us: the God of Jacob is our protector.

45:9. Come and behold ye the works of the Lord: what wonders he hath
done upon earth,

45:10. Making wars to cease even to the end of the earth. He shall
destroy the bow, and break the weapons: and the shield he shall burn in
the fire.

45:11. Be still and see that I am God; I will be exalted among the
nations, and I will be exalted in the earth.

45:12. The Lord of armies is with us: the God of Jacob is our protector.

Psalms Chapter 46

Omnes gentes, plaudite.

The Gentiles are invited to praise God for the establishment of the
kingdom of Christ.

46:1. Unto the end, for the sons of Core.

46:2. O clap your hands, all ye nations: shout unto God with the voice
of joy,

46:3. For the Lord is high, terrible: a great king over all the earth.

46:4. He hath subdued the people under jus; and the nations under our
feet.

46:5. He hath chosen for us his inheritance, the beauty of Jacob which
he hath love.

46:6. God is ascended with jubilee, and the Lord with the sound of
trumpet.

46:7. Sing praises to our God, sing ye: sing praises to our king, sing
ye.

46:8. For God is the king of all the earth: sing ye wisely.

46:9. God shall reign over the nations: God sitteth on his holy throne.

46:10. The princes of the people are gathered together, with the God of
Abraham: for the strong gods of the earth are exceedingly exalted.

Psalms Chapter 47

Magnus Dominus.

God is greatly to be praised for the establishment of his church.

47:1. A psalm of a canticle, for the sons of Core, on the second day of
the week.

47:2. Great is the Lord, and exceedingly to be praised in the city of
our God, in his holy mountain.

47:3. With the joy of the whole earth is mount Sion founded, on the
sides of the north, the city of the great king.

47:4. In her houses shall God be known, when he shall protect her.

47:5. For behold the kings of the earth assembled themselves: they
gathered together.

47:6. So they saw, and they wondered, they were troubled, they were
moved:

47:7. Trembling took hold of them. There were pains as of a woman in
labour.

47:8. With a vehement wind thou shalt break in pieces the ships of
Tharsis.

47:9. As we have heard, so have we seen, in the city of the Lord of
hosts, in the city of our God: God hath founded it for ever.

47:10. We have received thy mercy, O God, in the midst of thy temple.

47:11. According to thy name, O God, so also is thy praise kunto the
ends of the earth: thy right hand is full of justice.

47:12. Let mount Sion rejoice, and the daughters of Juda be glad;
because of thy judgments, O Lord.

47:13. Surround Sion, and encompass her: tell lye in her towers.

47:14. Set your hearts on her strength; and distribute her houses, that
ye may relate it in another generation.

47:15. For this is God, our God unto eternity, and for ever and ever: he
shall rule us for evermore.

Psalms Chapter 48

Audite haec, omnes gentes.

The folly of worldlings, who live on in sin, without thinking of death
or hell.

48:1. Unto the end, a psalm for the sons of Core.

48:2. Hear these things, all ye nations: give ear, all ye inhabitants of
the world.

48:3. All you that are earthborn, and you sons of men: both rich and
poor together.

48:4. My mouth shall speak wisdom: and the meditation of my heart
understanding.

48:5. I will incline my ear to a parable; I will open my proposition on
the psaltery.

48:6. Why shall I fear in the evil day? the iniquity of my heel shall
encompass me.

The iniquity of my heel... That is, the iniquity of my steps or ways: or
the iniquity of my pride, with which as with the heel, I have spurned
and kicked at my neighbours: or the iniquity of my heel, that is, the
iniquity in which I shall be found in death. The meaning of this verse
is, Why should I now indulge those passions and sinful affections, or
commit now those sins, which will cause me so much fear and anguish in
the evil day; when the sorrows of death shall compass me, and the perils
of hell shall find me?

48:7. They that trust in their own strength, and glory in the multitude
of their riches,

They that trust, etc... As much as to say, let them fear that trust in
their strength or riches: for they have great reason to fear: seeing no
brother or other man, how much a friend soever, can by any price or
labour rescue them from death.

48:8. No brother can redeem, nor shall man redeem: he shall not give to
God his ransom,

48:9. Nor the price of the redemption of his soul: and shall labour for
ever,

And shall labour for ever, etc... This seems to be a continuation of the
foregoing sentence: as much as to say no man can by any price or ransom
prolong his life, that so he may still continue to labour here, and live
to the end of the world. Others understand it of the eternal sorrows,
and dying life of hell, which is the dreadful consequence of dying in
sin.

48:10. And shall still live unto the end.

48:11. He shall not see destruction, when he shall see the wise dying:
the senseless and the fool shall perish together: And they shall leave
their riches to strangers:

He shall not see destruction, etc... Or, shall he not see destruction?
As much as to say, however thoughtless he may be of his death, he must
not expect to escape; when even the wise and the good are not exempt
from dying.

48:12. And their sepulchres shall be their houses for ever. Their
dwelling places to all generations: they have called their lands by
their names.

They have called, etc... That is, they have left their names on their
graves, which alone remain of their lands.

48:13. And man when he was in honour did not understand; he is compared
to senseless beasts, and is become like to them.

48:14. This way of theirs is a stumblingblock to them: and afterwards
they shall delight in their mouth.

They shall delight in their mouth... Notwithstanding the wretched way in
which they walk, they shall applaud themselves with their mouths, and
glory in their doings.

48:15. They are laid in hell like sheep: death shall feed upon them. And
the just shall have dominion over them in the morning; and their help
shall decay in hell from their glory.

In the morning... That is, in the resurrection to a new life; when the
just shall judge and condemn the wicked. Ibid. From their glory... That
is, when their short-lived glory in this world shall be past, and be no
more.

48:16. But God will redeem my soul from the hand of hell, when he shall
receive me.

48:17. Be not thou afraid, when a man shall be made rick, and when the
glory of his house shall be increased.

48:18. For when he shall die he shall take nothing away; nor shall his
glory descend with him.

48:19. For in his lifetime his soul will be blessed: and he will praise
thee when thou shalt do well to him.

48:20. He shall g in to the gneerations of his fathers: and he shall
never see light.

48:21. Man when he was in honour did not understand: he hath been
compared to senseless beasts, and made like to them.

Psalms Chapter 49

Deus deorum.

The coming of Christ: who prefers virtue and inward purity before the
blood of victims.

49:1. A psalm for Asaph. The God of gods, the Lord hath spoken: and he
hath called the earth. From the rising of the sun, to the going down
thereof:

49:2. Out of Sion the loveliness of his beauty.

49:3. God shall come manifestly: our God shall come, and shall not keep
silence. A fire shall burn before him: and a mighty tempest shall be
round about him.

49:4. He shall call heraven from above, and the earth, to judge his
people.

49:5. Gather ye together his saints to him: who set his covenant before
sacrifices.

49:6. And the heavens shall declare his justice: for God is judge.

49:7. Hear, O my people, and I will speak: O Israel, and I will testify
to thee: I am God, thy God.

49:8. I will not reprove thee for thy sacrifices: and thy burnt
offerings are always in my sight.

49:9. I will not take calves out of thy house: nor he goats out of thy
flocks.

49:10. For all the beasts of the woods are mine: the cattle on the
hills, and the oxen.

49:11. I know all the fowls of the air: and with me is the beauty of the
field.

49:12. If I should be hungry, I would not tell thee: for the world is
mine, and the fulness thereof.

49:13. Shall I eat the flesh of bullocks? or shall I drink the blood of
goats?

49:14. Offer to God the sacrifice of praise: and pay thy vows to the
most High.

49:15. And call upon me in the day of trouble: I will deliver thee, and
thou shalt glorify me.

49:16. But to the sinner God hath said: Why dost thou declare my
justices, and take my covenant in thy mouth?

49:17. Seeing thou hast hated discipline: and hast cast my words behind
thee.

49:18. If thou didst see a thief thou didst run with him: and with
adulterers thou hast been a partaker.

49:19. Thy mouth hath abounded with evil, and thy tongue framed deceits.

49:20. Sitting thou didst speak against thy brother, and didst lay a
scandal against thy mother's son:

49:21. These things hast thou done, and I was silent. Thou thoughtest
unjustly that I should be like to thee: but I will reprove thee, and set
before thy face.

49:22. Understand these things, you that forget God; lest he snatch you
away, and there be none to deliver you.

49:23. The sacrifice of praise shall glorify me: and there is the way by
which I will shew him the salvation of God.

Psalms Chapter 50

Miserere.

The repentance and confession of David after his sin. The fourth
penitential psalm.

50:1. Unto the end, a psalm of David,

50:2. When Nathan the prophet came to him, after he had sinned with
Bethsabee. [2 Kings 12.]

50:3. Have mercy on me, O God, according to thy great mercy. And
according to the multitude of thy tender mercies blot out my iniquity.

50:4. Wash me yet more from my iniquity, and cleanse me from my sin.

50:5. For I know my iniquity, and my sin is always before me.

50:6. To thee only have I sinned, and have done evil befoer thee: that
thou mayst be justified in thy words, and mayst overcome when thou art
judged.

50:7. For behold I was conceived in iniquities; and in sins did my
mother conceive me.

50:8. For behold thou hast loved truth: the uncertain and hidden things
of thy wisdom thou hast made manifest to me.

50:9. Thou shalt sprinkle me with hyssop, and I shall be cleansed: thou
shalt wash me, and I shall be made whiter than snow.

50:10. To my hearing thou shalt give joy and gladness: and the bones
that have been humbled shall rejoice.

50:11. Tukrn away thy face from my sins, and blot out all my iniquities.

50:12. Create a clean heart in me, O God: and renew a right spirit
within my bowels.

50:13. Cast me not away from thy face; and take not thy holy spirit from
me.

50:14. Restore unto me the joy of thy salvation, and strengthen me with
a perfect spirit.

50:15. I will teach the unjust thy ways: and the wicked shall be
converted to thee.

50:16. Deliver me from blood, O God, thou God of my salvation: and my
tongue shall extol thy justice.

50:17. O Lord, thou wilt open my lips: and my mouth shall declare thy
praise.

50:18. For if thou hadst desired sacrifice, I would indeed have given
it: with burnt offerings thou wilt not b