Deus Deus meus, ad te. The prophet aspireth after God.
Dauid in banishment with great affection desireth to vnite himselfe with God in meditation, 4. purposing and promising euer to praise him: 10. prophicieth the vaine endeuoures, and condemnation of his enimies; and his owne aduancement.
1A psalm of David while he was in the desert of Edom.Salmo di David quando stava nel deserto dell'Idumea.A Psalme of Dauid when he was in the desert of Iuda (1. Reg. 22.)Psalmus David, cum esset in deserto Idumææ. 2O God, my God, to thee do I watch at break of day. For thee my soul hath thirsted; for thee my flesh, O how many ways!Dio, Dio mio, a te io aspiro al primo apparir della luce. Di te ha sete l'anima mia: in quante maniere ha sete di te la mia carne!O GOD my God to thee I watch, from the morning light. My soule hath thirsted to thee, my flesh to thee very manie wayes.Deus, Deus meus, ad te de luce vigilo. / Sitivit in te anima mea; quam multipliciter tibi caro mea ! 3In a desert land, and where there is no way, and no water: so in the sanctuary have I come before thee, to see thy power and thy glory.In una terra deserta, che vie non ha, ed è mancante di acque, mi presentai a te come nel santuario, per contemplare la tua potenza, e la tua gloria.In a desert land, and inaccessible, and without water, so in the holie haue I appeared to thee, that I might see thy strength, and thy glorie.In terra deserta, et invia, et inaquosa, / sic in sancto apparui tibi, / ut viderem virtutem tuam et gloriam tuam. 4For thy mercy is better than lives: thee my lips will praise.Perocché miglior delle vite ell'è la tua misericordia: a te le labbra mie daran laude.Because thy mercie is better then liues, my lippes shal prayse thee.Quoniam melior est misericordia tua super vitas, / labia mea laudabunt te. 5Thus will I bless thee all my life long: and in thy name I will lift up my hands.Quindi io ti benedirò nella mia vita, e nel nome tuo alzerò le mie mani.So wil I blesse thee in my life: and in thy name I wil lifte vp my hands.Sic benedicam te in vita mea, / et in nomine tuo levabo manus meas. 6Let my soul be filled as with marrow and fatness: and my mouth shall praise thee with joyful lips.Sia come ingrassata, e impinguata l'anima mia: e con voci di giubilo te loderà la mia bocca.As with marrow and fatnes let my soule be filled: and my mouth shal praise with lippes of exultation.Sicut adipe et pinguedine repleatur anima mea, / et labiis exsultationis laudabit os meum. 7If I have remembered thee upon my bed, I will meditate on thee in the morning:Se io mi son ricordato di te nel mio letto al bel mattino, mediterò sopra dite:If I haue bene mindful of thee vpon my bedde, in the morning I Wil meditate on thee:Si memor fui tui super stratum meum, / in matutinis meditabor in te. 8Because thou hast been my helper. And I will rejoice under the covert of thy wings:Perocché mio aiuto se' tu. E all'ombra dell'ali tue io esulterò:because thou hast bene my helper. And in the couert of thy winges I wil reioice,Quia fuisti adjutor meus, / et in velamento alarum tuarum exsultabo.
9My soul hath stuck close to thee: thy right hand hath received me.dietro a te va anelando l'anima mia: la tua destra mi ha sostenuto.my soule hath cleaued after thee: thy right hand hath receiued me.Adhæsit anima mea post te; / me suscepit dextera tua. 10But they have sought my soul in vain, they shall go into the lower parts of the earth:Eglino però indarno cercano la mia vita: entreranno nelle cupe viscere della terra,But they in vaine haue sought my soule, they shal enter into the inferiour partes of the earth.Ipsi vero in vanum quæsierunt animam meam: / introibunt in inferiora terræ; 11They shall be delivered into the hands of the sword, they shall be the portions of foxes.Saranno dati in poter della spada, saran preda delle volpi.They shal be deliuered into the handes of the sworde, they shal be the portions of foxes.tradentur in manus gladii: / partes vulpium erunt. 12But the king shall rejoice in God, all they shall be praised that swear by him: because the mouth is stopped of them that speak wicked things.Ma il re in Dio si allegrerà: avranno laude tutti coloro, che per lui giurano; perché è stata chiusa la bocca di coloro, che parlavano iniquamente.But the king shal reioice in God, al shal be praised that sweare by him: because the mouth is stopped of those that speake wicked thinges.Rex vero lætabitur in Deo; / laudabuntur omnes qui jurant in eo: / quia obstructum est os loquentium iniqua.
62:1
Haydock
Edom, (Idumaeae.) (Haydock)
Berthier
Several copies read Judaeae; which agrees with the Hebrew, etc. The Idumeans, after the captivity, occupied those deserts (Calmet) of Ziph, Haret, etc., (Worthington) where David had screened himself from the fury of Saul. This psalm may express his sentiments, (Theodoret; Muis) or those of the captives, returning home, (Calmet) or it may agree with all those, who thirst after their heavenly country. (Berthier)
Calmet
St. Jerome explains it of the coming of Christ, and it was used in the morning service. (St. Chrysostom) (Psalm cxl.) (Calmet)
Worthington
Catholics, who are imprisoned for their faith, and cannot approach the tabernacle, may here find comfort. (Worthington)
62:2
Day. The manna dissolved with the sun beams, and God will be served with diligence.
Worthington
Flesh. The sensations of my soul affect all my body. (Worthington)
Calmet
Thirst is more insupportable than hunger; and the psalmist could not express his ardour better. (Calmet)
Haydock
He loves God with all his strength, etc. (Haydock)
St. Jerome
"The soul desires, but the end can be attained only by good works." Carnis laboribus pervenitur. (St. Jerome)
Calmet
O how! Protestants, "longeth for thee in a dry," etc. But come is no Hebrew verb, and occurring no where else, is little understood by the Jews. It seems that comu, "as," should be here, to correspond with the following so. "As my flesh thirsts in this, etc., so in the," etc. I shall find no less pleasure in attending thy worship, than a thirsty traveller does in finding water. (Calmet)
Berthier
Theodotion agrees with the Septuagint, in considering this as a compound word posaplos, (Calmet) and we had best stick to the most ancient version. (Berthier)
62:3
Land. "O solitude," cries out St. Ephrem, "ladder of heaven, mother of compunction,....and piety, thou art the guardian of the eyes," etc.
Haydock
Glory. The ark, (Calmet) or Jesus Christ, the desired of all nations. (St. Jerome) (Haydock)
Worthington
I have attended thy worship in spirit, not being able to be present at Jerusalem. (Calmet) (Menochius) (Worthington)
Haydock
Thus people, who cannot hear mass, ought to act. (Haydock)
62:4
St. Hilary
Lives. For these must perish, while heaven remains for ever. (St. Hilary)
Worthington
This consolation is preferable to any worldly prosperity. (Worthington)
62:5
Calmet
Hands. Doing good works, as the Fathers explain it. This is the posture of people who pray, or take an oath. (Tertullian) (1 Timothy 2:8.) (Calmet)
Worthington
I will, etc. Comfort is proportioned to suffering for Christ, 2 Corinthians 1:(Worthington)
62:6
Calmet
Fatness. With the most exquisite delights of the temple, Jeremias 31:14. (Calmet)
Menochius
Thy grace will enable me to give thee due praise (Worthington) with joy. (Menochius)
62:7
Berthier
Bed. I will think on thee both when I retire to rest, and when I get up. (Berthier)
Haydock
Thou art my first beginning, and last end. (Haydock)
Menochius
At all times I will meditate on thy mercies (Calmet) in bed, and much more, when I arise, (Worthington) as I shall not then be so much oppressed with drowsiness. (Menochius)
62:10
Calmet
Earth. To seek me out, (Houbigant) or they shall perish. The Babylonians were exposed to many miseries under Cyrus, as the prophets assert, (Isaias 13:1., and Jeremias 25:12.) though profane history be silent. (Calmet)
Worthington
David foretells the destruction of his persecutors, either temporal or spiritual. (Worthington)
St. Hilary
The devils may be styled foxes. (Berthier) (St. Hilary)
Calmet
This may also be verified in the Jews, who persecuted Christ, and fell a prey to the Roman arms, etc. (Eusebius) (Calmet)
Worthington
Saul perished in battle, and his body was exposed on a gibbet to wild beasts, 1 Kings xxxi. (Worthington)
62:12
The king. David, (Berthier, etc.) or Zorobabel, for whom the Jews had the highest regard, though he was not an independent monarch, nor wore a crown, Aggeus 2:24., and Zacharias 3:8. It was customary to swear by the life of the king, 1 Kings 1:26., and 20:3. The Fathers understand Jesus Christ to be meant, and this is the true and primary sense; as Zorobabel was only a figure of Him, and never really possessed the throne, that the Jews might not think that the prophecies were fulfilled in his person.
Haydock
Those who follow the true religion, (Deuteronomy 6:13., and Isaias 45:23.; Calmet) and act accordingly (Haydock) shall be kings for ever, Apocalypse. (Berthier) (1 Peter 2:9.) (Haydock)
Worthington
As David came to the throne, on the death of his rival, so was Christ's name exalted, after the Romans had destroyed the Jews. (Worthington)
62:1
Holie Dauid made this deuout meditation when he was in the forest of Haret, or desert of Ziph 1. Reg. 22. & 23. and could not come to the tabernacle of God, nor to Ierusalem, where he especially desired to be, in the inheritance of our Lord, which was to him a great affliction. As the like is now to Catholiques, when they are put in close prison for their faith, or otherwise hindered, that they can not be present at the most holie and daylie Sacrifice. In which ease we must supplie as we may, this great losse, and comfort ourselues with this, or like Psalme, or prayer, saying: O God my God, to thee I watch.
62:2
Euen from the first downing of the morning,
my soule thirsteth after thee,
yea also my very flesh, and whole bodie feeleth great paines, by this affliction of mind, and desireth releefe and rest.
62:3
Being now in case that I can not serue thee, ô God, as I would, yet I exhibite myselfe present in spirite, before thy holie place,
meditating thy powre, and thy glorie.
62:4
This consolation in banishment from thy diuine Seruice, is sweeter to me then manie temporal liues, or anie worldlie prosperitie.
62:5
For as the Passions of Christ abound in vs (saith S. Paul 2. Cor. 1.) so also by Christ our comfort aboundeth.
62:6
Replenish my soul ô God, with the aboundance of thy grace,
so shal I be more able to praise thee.
62:7
Seing in the night, also in my bed I meditate of thee;
I wil more diligently do the same in the morning.
62:10
My temporal and spiritual enimies:
and they shal be damned for their sinnes.
62:11
It happened literally to Saul, that he was slaine in battle, which he made against his enimies.
and his dead bodie was hung on a wall (1. Reg. 31.) exposed to wilde beastes, or birdes, though it was after wards bu nt and buried.
62:12
Dauid was presently after Sauls death exalted to the kingdome, in figure of Christ, whose name and glorie was exalted, after the destruction of the Iewes by Pagane Emperours.
62:1
St Athanasius of Alexandria † AD 373 Festal and Personal Letters of Athanasius 20
… as David sang, ‘My God, my God, early will I seek Thee, my soul thirsteth for Thee; many times my heart and flesh longeth for Thee in a barren land, without a path, and without water. Thus was I seen by Thee in the sanctuary
St Gregory of Nazianzus † AD 389 Select Orations of Saint Gregory Nazianzen 43.36
… Further he provided the nourishment of the Word, and that more perfect bounty and distribution, which is really heavenly and from on high—if the word be that bread of angels, wherewith souls are fed and given to drink, who are a hungered for God,
St John Chrysostom † AD 407 Commentary on Galatians 2
… Thus the Prophets often appropriate to themselves Him who is God of all, as in the words, “O God, thou art my God, early will I seek Thee.” (
St Jerome † AD 420 The Letters of St. Jerome 71.1
… you have despised Leviathan who reigns in the waters. Your aim is to seek the wilderness with Jesus and to sing the prophet’s song: “my soul thirsteth for thee, my flesh longeth for thee in a dry and thirsty land where no water is; to see thy power and thy glory, so as I have seen thee in the sanctuary,”
St Jerome † AD 420 The Letters of St. Jerome 75.1
… “as in a dry and pathless and waterless land, so have I appeared unto thee in the sanctuary.”
St Jerome † AD 420 The Letters of St. Jerome 108.21
… “Burden not thyself above thy power”? ) but because I wish from this quality of perseverance in her to shew the passion of her mind and the yearning of her believing soul; both of which made her sing in David’s words, “My soul thirsteth for thee, my flesh longeth after thee.”
St Jerome † AD 420 The Letters of St. Jerome 122.1
… My soul thirsteth for God, for the living God: when shall I come and appear before God? My tears have been my meat day and night,” and in another place, “O God, thou art my God; early will I seek thee: my soul thirsteth for thee, my flesh longeth for thee in a dry and weary land where no water is. So have I looked upon thee in the sanctuary.”
St Augustine of Hippo † AD 430 The Confessions 13.16
… And Thy Essence Knoweth and Willeth unchangeably; and Thy Knowledge Is, and Willeth unchangeably; and Thy Will Is, and Knoweth unchangeably. Nor doth it appear just to Thee, that as the Unchangeable Light knoweth Itself, so should It be known by that which is enlightened and changeable. Therefore unto Thee is my soul as “land where no water is,”
St Augustine of Hippo † AD 430 Letters of St. Augustin 130.5
… and in the midst of all this, she says in her prayer, “My soul thirsteth for Thee; my flesh longeth in a dry and thirsty land, where no water is;”
St Augustine of Hippo † AD 430 Expositions on the Book of Psalms 63.2
2. “God, my God, unto Thee from the light I watch” (
62:2
St Augustine of Hippo † AD 430 Expositions on the Book of Psalms 63.3
… Ye see those longings, how they are in the hearts of men. All men are inflamed with longing, and scarce is found one to say, “My soul hath thirsted for Thee.” For men thirst for the world: and perceive not themselves to be in the desert of Idumæa, where their souls ought to thirst for God.…
John Cassian † AD 435 The Twelve Books on the Institutes of the Cœnobia, and the Remedies for the Eight Principal Faults 3.3
… “O God, my God, to Thee do I watch at break of day;” and “I will meditate on Thee in the morning;” and “I prevented the dawning of the day and cried;” and again, “Mine eyes to Thee have prevented the morning, that I might meditate on Thy words.”
62:3
Origen † AD 254 Origen's Commentary on the Gospel of John 6.3
… For example, Christ is our life as the Saviour Himself says, “I am the way and the truth and the life.” The Apostle, too, says, “When Christ our life shall appear, then shall ye also appear with Him in glory.” And in the Psalms again we find,
St Augustine of Hippo † AD 430 The Confessions 11.29
39. But “because Thy loving-kindness is better than life,”
St Augustine of Hippo † AD 430 Expositions on the Book of Psalms 63.7
7. “Thus in a holy thing I have appeared to Thee, that I might see Thy power and Thy glory” (
62:5
St Augustine of Hippo † AD 430 Expositions on the Book of Psalms 63.10
10. “So I will speak good of Thee in my life, and in Thy name I will lift up my hands” (
62:6
St John Chrysostom † AD 407 The Homilies of St. John Chrysostom on the Epistle to the Hebrews 14
Whence may the forgetfulness of wickedness come to us? From the remembrance of good things, from the remembrance of God. If we continually remember God, we cannot remember those things also. For (he says) “When I remembered Thee upon my bed, I thought upon Thee in the morning dawn.” (
62:7
St John Chrysostom † AD 407 A Commentary on the Acts of the Apostles 26
… only stir up thyself, establish thyself in the habit. Nothing is better than that storehouse which receives such prayers as these. Hear the Prophet speaking: “If I remembered Thee upon my bed, I thought upon Thee in the dawn of the morning.” (
St Augustine of Hippo † AD 430 Expositions on the Book of Psalms 63.12
12. “If I have remembered Thee upon my bed, in the dawnings I did meditate on thee (
62:8
Origen † AD 254 Origen Against Celsus 7.34
… He holds all things in His power, and is Himself not confined by anything whatever. The precept, therefore, “Thou shalt walk after the Lord thy God,” does not command a bodily approach to God; neither does the prophet refer to physical nearness to God, when he says in his prayer, “My soul followeth hard after Thee.”
St Jerome † AD 420 The Letters of St. Jerome 123.13
… In days gone by men rejoiced to hear it said of them: “thy children shall be like olive plants round about thy table,” and “thou shalt see thy children’s children.” But now it is said of those who live in continence: “he that is joined unto the Lord is one spirit;” and “my soul followeth hard after thee: thy right hand upholdeth me.”
St Jerome † AD 420 The Letters of St. Jerome 130.7
… but say always with the bride in the song of songs: “By night I sought him whom my soul loveth. Tell me where thou feedest, where thou makest thy flock to rest at noon;” and with the psalmist: “my soul followeth hard after thee: thy right hand upholdeth me;”
St Augustine of Hippo † AD 430 The Confessions 11.29
39. But “because Thy loving-kindness is better than life,” behold, my life is but a distraction, and Thy right hand upheld me
St Augustine of Hippo † AD 430 Expositions on the Book of Psalms 3.10
… “Thou hast broken the teeth of the sinners.” Each man hath those that revile him, he hath too the prime authors of vice, who strive to cut him off from the body of Christ. But “salvation is of the Lord.” Pride is to be guarded against, and we must say, “My soul cleaved after Thee.”
St Augustine of Hippo † AD 430 Expositions on the Book of Psalms 63.12
12. “If I have remembered Thee upon my bed, in the dawnings I did meditate on thee ( ver. 7 ): because Thou hast become my helper” (
62:9
St Augustine of Hippo † AD 430 Expositions on the Book of Psalms 63.13
13. “My soul hath been glued on behind Thee” (
St Augustine of Hippo † AD 430 Expositions on the Book of Psalms 63.14
14. “But themselves in vain have sought my soul. They shall go unto the lower places of the earth” (
John Cassian † AD 435 The Twelve Books on the Institutes of the Cœnobia, and the Remedies for the Eight Principal Faults 5.18
… he has only finished the contest of a race when he says “I so run, not as uncertainly” (a phrase which has more particularly to do with the intention of the mind and fervour of his spirit, in which he followed Christ with all zeal, crying out with the Bride, “We will run after thee for the odour of thine ointments;” and again, “My soul cleaveth unto thee:”
John Cassian † AD 435 The Conferences of John Cassian 7.6
… “My soul hath stuck close to Thee;” and: “I have stuck unto Thy testimonies, O Lord;” and: “It is good for me to stick fast to God;” and: “He who cleaveth to the Lord, is one spirit.”
62:10
St Augustine of Hippo † AD 430 Expositions on the Book of Psalms 63.15
15. “They shall be delivered unto the hands of the sword” (
St Augustine of Hippo † AD 430 Expositions on the Book of Psalms 89.34
“All they that go by the way have spoiled him:” that is, all the heathen that go by the way, meaning, all who pass through this life, have spoiled Israel, have spoiled David. First of all, see his fragments in all nations: for it is of the Jews that it is said, “They shall be a portion for foxes.”
62:11
St Athanasius of Alexandria † AD 373 Illud Omnia, &c. (On Luke x. 22.) 3
… For, in fact, the Father judgeth none, but hath given all judgment to the Son’ ( Joh. v. 22 ). But ‘let the mouth of them that speak wickedness be stopped’ (
St John Chrysostom † AD 407 The Homilies on the Statues to the People of Antioch 19.14
… Thou hast seen the sickle! Thou hast seen the head of John! Thou hast heard the history pertaining to Saul! Thou hast heard the manner of the Jewish captivity! And beside all these, thou hast heard the sentence of Christ declaring, that not only to commit perjury, but to swear in any way, is a diabolical thing, and the whole a device of the evil one.
St Augustine of Hippo † AD 430 Answer to the Letters of Petilian, the Donatist 1.19
… which they certainly would not fear if what they spoke of us were true. But their apprehension is not groundless, as it is written in the Psalm, "The mouth of them that speak lies shall be stopped."
62:3
v. 3 sic in sancto apparui tibi, hebr vidit desiderio et amore Dei frequentavit sanctuarium Dei, u£ viderem virtutem tuam et gloriam tuam, ut scil. intimo sensu animi perciperet, gustaret Deum potentem et sublimem, ut praeclaram sibi efformaret notionem (pla 0 de 1261 potentia et gloria. Et. quantopere in. Deo gratiam Dei maius aestimat bonum quam vitam. Quare : /abia mea lau- cultu Dei anima gustu et consolatione satiatur
62:6
v. 6 sicut adipe et pinlabus laudantibus canet 08 meum (Hier) ; ex abundantia cordis os loquitur. Animus eius ita impletus est laude Dei, ut etiam noctu memoria eius dans tui in cubili meo per singulas vigilias meditabor tibi. Alii corriὃ gunt אף pro zs, etiam super stratum meum memor sum tui, in matutinis, hebr in vigiliis, de te meditor,
62:8
v. 8 quia fuisti adiutor meus, anima mea tibi, me fuleit dextera tua. Quare tutus sum ab insidus 1η1micorum
62:10
v. 10 ipsi vero in vanum quaesierunt animam meam, Hier εἰς μάτην, hebr ad perniciem ; introibunt in inferiora terrae, in orcum, ad inferos; morte praematura luent insidias mihi structas ; tradentur in manus gladii, m bello gladio peribunt, pars vulpium erunt ; praeda vulpium erunt, corpora eorum insepulta 18660121 in escam ferarum.
62:12
Rex vero laetabitur in Deo, et omnis qui iurat per eum gloriabitur, quia obstruitur os loquentium mendacium. Iurare per Deum unus est actus cultus et adorationis Dei; designantur itaque qui cultores Dei hane suam fidem et fidelitatem revera profitentur, causam Dei tuentur. Os loquentium mendacium probabiliter denotat idololatras in. oppositione ad eos qui iurant per Deum, dum 1111 iurant per mendacium, gloriantur in mendacio, qua voce quandoque idololatria denotatur (cf. Is. de hostibus populi Dei et psalmum 6101 ex persona quoque piorum. Illud laudabuntur explicant Gen. gloriabuntur, Ag. quivis gloriabitur, sibi gratulabitur. P Ps. 63. | DS E 1. In finem. Psalmus David. ; E E.
62:2
… presence that condemns him inexorably (Jn. 3:20). Likewise the elect, with full humility and trust, go to meet the gaze that turns toward them (Ps. 32:18-21), even while they still have nothing to offer him but a first glimmer of good will (Jn. 3:21; Ps. 62:2-3).
… Aridity is simply the wasting away of the consoling action: the fertilizing clouds of sensible devotion have evaporated and the intimate impression answers to the words of the Psalmist: "In a desert land, parched and without water, so in the sanctuary I presented myself to You" (Ps. 62:2).
62:12
This world of the dead is in the subterranean cavity, opposed to the height of heaven (Job 11:8); into this depth (Ps. 48:15; 62:12; Is. 5:14; Ecclus. 17:19) one
62:13
… book of P. almost constantly four (30, 15 f. 18 f. 21 ff. 24-28, 29 ff.: seven, in 6, 16-19), with prior mention of three (note the exception of 30, 24); but in the other books, especially the prophetic ones, the complete number is also two (Job 40, 5; Ps. 62, 13), five, sometimes seven (Job 5, 19) and even eight (Matt. 5, 5) and ten (Ecclus. 25, 7).
Douay-Rheims (Challoner) · Vulgata Clementina · original Douay-Rheims (Douay 1609-10), transcription by EEBO-TCP (CC0) · La Sacra Bibbia, tradotta dalla Volgata da Antonio Martini (1769-1781) (LaParola (laparola.net), Martini OSIS text, Public domain (LaParola's electronic edition marks it 'Dominio pubblico')). Public domain.