Ut quid, Deus. A prayer of the church under grievous persecutions.
Faithful people pressed with persecution lamentably complayning, besecheth God to respect his owne inheritance, cruelly afflicted; ••. and leift long without helpe, 12. wheras heretofore he releeued his people in like distresses. 18. And therfore confidently hopeth he wil renenge the blasphemers of his name,
1Understanding for Asaph. O God, why hast thou cast us off unto the end: why is thy wrath enkindled against the sheep of thy pasture?Salmo di intelligenza: di Asaph. E perchè, o Dio ci hai tu rigettati per sempre, si è infiammato il tuo sdegno contro le pecorelle della tua greggia?Vnderstanding to Asaph. VVHY hast thou ô God repelled for euer: is thy furie wrath vpon the sheepe of thy pasture?Intellectus Asaph. Ut quid, Deus, repulisti in finem, / iratus est furor tuus super oves pascuæ tuæ ? 2Remember thy congregation, which thou hast possessed from the beginning. The sceptre of thy inheritance which thou hast redeemed: mount Sion in which thou hast dwelt.Ricordati della tua congregazione, che tua fu fin da principio. Tu comperasti il dominio di tua eredità: il monte di Sion fu il luogo di tua abitazione.Be mindful of thy congregation, which thou hast possessed from the beginning. Thou hast redemed the rod of thine inheritan••e: mount Sion, in which thou hast dwelt.Memor esto congregationis tuæ, / quam possedisti ab initio. / Redemisti virgam hæreditatis tuæ, / mons Sion, in quo habitasti in eo. 3Lift up thy hands against their pride unto the end; see what things the enemy hath done wickedly in the sanctuary.Alza per sempre il tuo braccio contro la loro superbia: quanti mali ha commesso il nemico nel santuario!Lift vp thy handes vpon their prides for euer: how great thinges hath the enimie done malignantly in the holy place.Leva manus tuas in superbias eorum in finem: / quanta malignatus est inimicus in sancto ! 4And they that hate thee have made their boasts, in the midst of thy solemnity. They have set up their ensigns for signs,E color che ti odiano se ne vantarono nel luogo stesso delle tue sommità. Hanno poste (e non v'han fatto riflessione)And they that hate thee haue gloried: in the middes of thy solemnitie. They haue sette their signes, for signes:Et gloriati sunt qui oderunt te in medio solemnitatis tuæ; / posuerunt signa sua, signa: 5And they knew not both in the going out and on the highest top. As with axes in a wood of trees,le loro insegne; le insegne sulla sommità del tempio, come ad un capo di strada. Hanno similmente spezzate con accette le sue porte,and haue not knowne, as in the issue on high. As in a wood of trees they haue with axeset non cognoverunt sicut in exitu super summum. / Quasi in silva lignorum securibus 6They have cut down at once the gates thereof, with axe and hatchet they have brought it down.come si fa degli alberi nella foresta: colle scure, e colle accette lo hanno atterrato.cut out the gates therof together: in hatchet, and chippeaxe they haue cast it downe.exciderunt januas ejus in idipsum; / in securi et ascia dejecerunt eam.
7They have set fire to thy sanctuary: they have defiled the dwelling place of thy name on the earth.Han dato fuoco al tuo santuario: han profanato il tabernacolo, che tu avevi sopra la terra.They haue burnt thy sanctuarie with fire: they haue polluted the tabernacle of thy name in the earth.Incenderunt igni sanctuarium tuum; / in terra polluerunt tabernaculum nominis tui. 8They said in their heart, the whole kindred of them together: Let us abolish all the festival days of God from the land.Ha detto in cuor suo tutta la loro nazione: Leviam di sopra la terra tutti i giorni consagrati al culto di Dio.Their kinred together haue saide in their hart: Let vs make al the festiual daies of God to cease from the earth.Dixerunt in corde suo cognatio eorum simul: / Quiescere faciamus omnes dies festos Dei a terra. 9Our signs we have not seen, there is now no prophet: and he will know us no more.E noi non veggiam que' nostri prodigj, né v'ha pia alcun profeta, ed egli più non ci riconosce.Our signes we haue not seene, there is now no prophet: and he wil know vs no more.Signa nostra non vidimus; / jam non est propheta; / et nos non cognoscet amplius. 10How long, O God, shall the enemy reproach: is the adversary to provoke thy name for ever?E fino a quando, o Dio, insulterà l'inimico, e l'avversario bestemmierà continuamente il tuo nome?How long ô God shal the enimie vpbraide: the aduersarie prouoke thy name for euer?Usquequo, Deus, improperabit inimicus ? / irritat adversarius nomen tuum in finem ? 11Why dost thou turn away thy hand: and thy right hand out of the midst of thy bosom for ever?E perché ritiri tu la tua mano? tira fuor dal tuo seno la tua destra una volta per sempre.Why doest thou turne away thy hand, and thy right hand, out of the middes of thy bosome for euer?Ut quid avertis manum tuam, / et dexteram tuam de medio sinu tuo in finem ? 12But God is our king before ages: he hath wrought salvation in the midst of the earth.Ma Dio, il quale da' secoli è nostro Re ha operato salute nel mezzo della terra.But God our king before the worldes: he hath wrought saluation in the middes of the earth.Deus autem rex noster ante sæcula: / operatus est salutem in medio terræ. 13Thou by thy strength didst make the sea firm: thou didst crush the heads of the dragons in the waters.Tu desti col tuo potere saldezza al mare: tu le teste de' dragoni conculcasti nelle acque.Thou in thy strength hast confirmed the sea: thou hast crushed the head of Dragons in the waters.Tu confirmasti in virtute tua mare; / contribulasti capita draconum in aquis.
14Thou hast broken the heads of the dragon: thou hast given him to be meat for the people of the Ethiopians.Tu spezzasti le teste del dragone; gli facesti preda de' popoli dell'Etiopia.Thou hast broken the heads of the dragon: thou hast giuen him for meate to the peoples of the Aethiopians.Tu confregisti capita draconis; / dedisti eum escam populis Æthiopum. 15Thou hast broken up the fountains and the torrents: thou hast dried up the Ethan rivers.Tu apristi le rupi in fontane, e torrenti: tu asciugasti i fiumi nella loro forza.Thou hast broken vp fountanes, and torrentes: thou hast dried the riuers of Ethan.Tu dirupisti fontes et torrentes; / tu siccasti fluvios Ethan. 16Thine is the day, and thine is the night: thou hast made the morning light and the sun.Tuo è il giorno e tua è la notte: tu creasti l'aurora, ed il sole.The day is thine, and the night is thine: thou hast made the morning and the sunne.Tuus est dies, et tua est nox; / tu fabricatus es auroram et solem. 17Thou hast made all the borders of the earth: the summer and the spring were formed by thee.Tu facesti la terra, e i suoi confini: opera tua sono e l'estate, e la primavera.Thou hast made al the coasts of the earth: the summer and the spring thou hast formed them.Tu fecisti omnes terminos terræ; / æstatem et ver tu plasmasti ea. 18Remember this, the enemy hath reproached the Lord: and a foolish people hath provoked thy name.Di queste cose ricordati. Il nemico ha detti improperj contro il Signore: e un popolo stolto ha bestemmiato il tuo nome.Be mindeful of this, the enimie hath vpbraided our Lord: and a foolish people hath prouoked thy name.Memor esto hujus: inimicus improperavit Domino, / et populus insipiens incitavit nomen tuum. 19Deliver not up to beasts the souls that confess to thee: and forget not to the end the souls of thy poor.Non dare in poter delle bestie le anime di quelli, che te onorano, e non ti scordar per sempre dell'anime de' tuoi poveri.Deliuer not to beasts the soules that confesse to thee: and the soules of thy poore forget not for euer.Ne tradas bestiis animas confitentes tibi, / et animas pauperum tuorum ne obliviscaris in finem. 20Have regard to thy covenant: for they that are the obscure of the earth have been filled with dwellings of iniquity.Volgi lo sguardo alla tua alleanza; perocché i più oscuri nomini della terra hanno copia di case iniquamente occupate.Haue respect vnto thy testament: because they that are obscure of the earth, are filled with houses of iniquities.Respice in testamentum tuum, / quia repleti sunt qui obscurati sunt terræ domibus iniquitatum.
21Let not the humble be turned away with confusion: the poor and needy shall praise thy name.L'uomo umiliato non si parta (da te) svergognato: il povero, e il bisognoso daran lodi al tuo nome.Let not the humble be turned away being confounded: the poore and needy shal praise thy name.Ne avertatur humilis factus confusus; / pauper et inops laudabunt nomen tuum. 22Arise, O God, judge thy own cause: remember thy reproaches with which the foolish man hath reproached thee all the day.Levati su, o Signore, giudica la tua causa: ricordati degli oltraggi fatti a te, di quelli, che un popolo stolto ti fa tutto giorno.Arise God, iudge thy cause: be mindful of those thy reproches, that are from the foolish man al the day.Exsurge, Deus, judica causam tuam; / memor esto improperiorum tuorum, / eorum quæ ab insipiente sunt tota die. 23Forget not the voices of thy enemies: the pride of them that hate thee ascendeth continually.Non ti scordare delle voci de' tuoi nemici: la superbia di color, che ti odiano va sempre in su.Forget not the voices of thine enimies: the pride of them that hate thee, hath ascended alwaies.Ne obliviscaris voces inimicorum tuorum: / superbia eorum qui te oderunt ascendit semper.
73:1
Haydock
Understanding. Psalm xxxi. (Haydock)
Calmet
We behold here the destruction of the tabernacle by the Philistines, (Grotius) or rather of the temple, by Nabuzardan, (4 Kings 25:8., and Jeremias 52:12.) though some understand the profanation of Epiphanes, or the final ruin by the Romans. In the latter destruction, the Jews were no longer God's inheritance, and he would never have inspired the prophet to pray for what would not be granted. (Calmet)
Berthier
This psalm may be used by the just, under affliction; and why, He knew it, was on account of sin; but wishes to move God to mercy, and to put an end to the distress of his people. (Berthier)
Worthington
In long persecutions, the weak begin to fear that God has abandoned them. (Worthington)
Menochius
He acts externally as if He had. (Menochius)
73:2
Haydock
Mount. St. Augustine reads montem, (Calmet) as the Hebrew may also signify. "This Mount Sion, thou hast dwelt in it." (Montanus) (Haydock)
Calmet
What injury has it done? (Calmet)
Worthington
The more enlightened are fully persuaded, that God will still preserve his Church. (Worthington)
73:3
Berthier
Hands. Hebrew, "feet," (Mont.; Haydock) or "strokes," phehamec. (Berthier)
Haydock
"The elevation of thy feet (thy foot-stool, or temple; Calmet) is destroyed unto the end;" (St. Jerome) or "for victory," as Symmachus renders netsach. The Chaldeans have boasted of their victory over thee, and violated thy most holy places. (Haydock)
Berthier
This is what fills me with grief. (Berthier)
Calmet
But thou wilt punish them. The captives saw the overthrow of their empire. (Calmet)
Worthington
God's former wonders give reason to hope, that he will not fail to assist his Church, which he delivered from the hand of Pharao, and by Christ's death, from the devil's power. (Worthington)
73:4
Calmet
Made. Hebrew, "have roared," sending forth shouts of war, where thy praises alone ought to be heard. (Calmet)
Menochius
Ensigns. They have fixed their colours for signs and trophies, both on the gates, and on the highest top of the temple; and they knew not, that is, they regarded not the sanctity of the place. This psalm manifestly foretells the time of the Machabees, and the profanation of the temple by Antiochus; (Challoner; 1 Machabees i.; Menochius) or rather it seems to refer to the destruction under Nabuchodonosor; (Berthier) as under the former the temple was not burnt: (ver. 7.; Calmet) yet the doors were, 1 Machabees 4:(Menochius)
Haydock
For signs. Literally, "yea, their signs," signa sua signa. (Haydock)
73:5
Menochius
Going out. Septuagint, "coming in." Both designate the same gates, (Haydock) or the ends of roads and streets, Matthew xxii. (Menochius)
Calmet
Top. The doors of the temple were very lofty. The idolatrous ensigns were fixed there, as on an eminence, to give notice of an invasion, (Isaias 11:12.) while the soldiers plundered all, before they set fire to the city and temple, 4 Kings 25:9. (Calmet)
Berthier
Protestants, "a man was famous according as he had lifted up axes upon the thick trees." The text is very obscure, insomuch that St. Jerome's version is unintelligible. (Berthier)
Calmet
Yet it may signify, "they have placed their ensigns for a trophy, manifest upon the entrance aloft; their hatchets in a wood of trees; and now its sculptures together they have defaced with axe and hatchets, dolatoriis." Not content with these excesses, they at last set fire to the fabric, (Haydock) which was easily reduced to ashes, as there was so much wood about it, and in the very walls. (Calmet)
Berthier
St. Chrysostom contemplates the like havoc, which is made by sin. (Berthier)
Worthington
In false religions, some external shew, festivals, and altars, are opposed to the true ones. (Worthington)
73:7
Haydock
Name. That temple, which was the only one consecrated to thee. (Haydock)
Worthington
All persecutors seek to destroy the places of true worship. (Worthington)
73:8
Calmet
Together. And the infidel nations in that army, Psalm 136:7. (Calmet)
Calmet
Days. So the enemies of religion are always affected. The servants of God ought to be more zealous to preserve the remains of ancient piety. Protestant version translates, synagogues, (Haydock; Aquila; Symmachus) which Sigonius asserts were hardly known in the days of the Machabees, though they are clearly mentioned, (Esther 4:16.) and must have existed at all times, Acts 15:21., and Matthew 4:13. (Calmet)
Calmet
Houbigant has "let all the congregations of God cease." Hebrew literally, "they have burnt," (Berthier) or ended. (Calmet)
Parkhurst
Yet St. Jerome thinks that the Septuagint read with the VI edition, katakausomen, "let us burn," (Berthier) and Grabe has also substituted k for p, as that brings the Septuagint nearer to the sense of the Hebrew, (Haydock) and is supported by some copies, (Calmet) though it seems less accurate, if we speak of days. (Berthier) Mohed, denoted, "a set time, or meeting." (Parkhurst)
73:9
Calmet
Our. Some copies of the Septuagint read "their," as if the enemy still spoke. But the people of God rather complain, that they are not so favoured with prodigies, as they had been formerly, and that the prophets did not publicly encourage them, (Berthier) or declare how long these miseries would continue; as the Hebrew may intimate. (Calmet)
Haydock
Protestants, "neither is there among us any that knoweth how long." (Haydock)
Haydock
Yet neglecting the points, our version is accurate, and any one, or God, may be understood, (Berthier) as taking no cognizance of his people. (Haydock)
Calmet
It is natural for those in distress to exaggerate; for we know that many wonders were wrought, and that prophets were sent to instruct the captives. But they were not so common, nor the prophets so popular, or complaisant, as they could have wished: nor could they be so easily consulted at Babylon, Daniel being generally at Susa, or at court, and Ezechiel in higher Mesopotamia. (Calmet)
Berthier
They could not appear at the head of the people, to harangue in their defence, like Aaron, Exodus 7:1., and Daniel 3:38. (Berthier)
Menochius
The weak, therefore, complain, that they have no prophet to console (Worthington) them with miracles. (Menochius)
Worthington
But the more perfect answer, that God both hath and will relieve his people, ver. 12. (Worthington)
73:11
Calmet
Ever. Why dost thou delay to heap favours on us, and destruction on thy adversaries? We are most grieved at the injury done to thy name. (Calmet)
73:12
Menochius
Ages. He is eternal, and hath long ago made choice of us. (Menochius)
Calmet
Earth. Publicly rescuing his people from Egypt, (Kimchi) and shewing his power over all the earth. (Calmet)
Calmet
The Fathers understand this of Jesus Christ, who died on Calvary, (Calmet) near Jerusalem, (Haydock) which some assert, is the middle of the earth, though others more properly attribute this situation to the promised land, which was nearly the centre of the world, (Amama) then known to the Jews, as there were 60 degrees to the Ganges, and as many westward to the extremity of Spain. Kimchi places it in the midst of the seven climates, (in Psalm 16:3.) and many others have explained this literally, as if Jerusalem was really the central point of the world, (St. Jerome in Ezechiel 5:5., and 38:12.; St. Hilary, etc.) in which sense Josephus styles it the navel. (Calmet)
Haydock
As the world is nearly round, any place may be said to be in the middle. Some have erroneously supposed, that Jerusalem was exactly under the line, (see de Locis. 3:in Ven. Bede's works) though it be about the 32 degree of North latitude. (Haydock)
Calmet
Its situation was at least very commodious for having access to the different parts of the ancient world. (St. Jerome in Ezechiel xxxviii.) (Calmet)
Tirinus
The middle of the earth may here also relate to Egypt, where God formerly displayed his power, (Berthier) or to the wilderness, as the sequel seems to indicate. The latter formed a part of the promised land, (Haydock) which was pitched upon to be the theatre of the true religion, and of the sufferings of Christ, as they were to be made known to all the world. (Tirinus)
73:13
Challoner
The sea firm. By making the waters of the Red Sea stand like firm walls, whilst Israel passed through; and destroying the Egyptians, called here dragons, from their cruelty, in the same waters, with their king; casting up their bodies on the shore, to be stript by the Ethiopians, inhabiting in those days the coast of Arabia. (Challoner)
Isaias 27:1., styles Pharao a dragon. See Job 40:20. (Calmet) (Exechiel 29:3.)
Berthier
Leviathan denotes a whale, or crocodile, and was an emblem of the devil, and of all tyrants, particularly of antichrist. (Berthier)
73:14
Menochius
Ethiopians. Or to enrich the Arabs. (Menochius)
Calmet
Hebrew Tsiim, is understood of sailors, and "fishermen," etc., Psalm 71:9. Some nations of Ethiopia are said to be cannibals; but they were too distant from the Red Sea. The Ichnyophagi or Troglodytes on the western banks, might despoil the dead, (Calmet) and procure food, (Haydock) unless this be a description of a great fish, slain by the power of the Almighty, and really eaten. (Calmet)
73:15
Challoner
Ethan rivers. That is, rivers which run with strong streams. This was verified in the Jordan, (Josue iii.) and in the Arnon, Numbers 21:14. (Challoner)
Berthier
Though the latter point is not so clear, God might divide the torrents, or rivers, at the station Ethan, as the Septuagint here read. (Berthier)
Calmet
Habacuc (3:9.) speaks of rivers. But in poetry, the plural is often used for the singular, and the passage of the Jordan may be meant. (Calmet)
Worthington
God had frequently supplied water from the rock, and gave a passage on dry land, through that river. (Menochius) (Worthington)
Haydock
Ethan means, "rapid," as the Jordan does also. (Haydock)
73:16
Berthier
Morning. Aurora. Hebrew, "the light," which existed before the sun. (Berthier)
Haydock
Yet most understand the moon, (Calmet) or, in general, "the luminaries." (St. Jerome) (Haydock)
73:17
Calmet
Spring. Hebrew, "and winter," under which two the Jews comprised all the seasons, (Genesis 8:22.) as the Africans and Danes are said to do still. (Calmet)
Berthier
Yet choreph is used for youth, "the spring" of life, Job 29:4. (Berthier)
73:18
Theodoret
This. "Congregation." (Theodoret)
Calmet
Septuagint add, "thy creature." Hebrew is feminine. But it is used instead of our neuter. (Calmet)
Haydock
Consider this insolent language; the enemy, etc., ver. 22. (Haydock)
73:19
Haydock
To thee. St. Jerome, "the soul intrusted in thy law." (Haydock)
Berthier
Hebrew has now torec, which is rendered, "thy turtle dove." But the Septuagint have read d, instead of r, better; (Calmet) and Houbigant rejects with disdain the present Hebrew, though that figurative expression would have the same meaning. (Berthier)
73:20
Challoner
The obscure of the earth. Mean and ignoble wretches have been filled, that is, enriched, with houses of iniquity, that is, with our estates and possessions, which they have unjustly acquired. (Challoner)
Haydock
Or the captives may thus complain, that they are forced to live among infidels, in constant danger of transgressing the law, (Calmet) while their children are brought up in sin, (Berthier) and ignorance. (Haydock)
Worthington
Infidels are full of all sorts of iniquity, which they hide in their conscience. (Worthington)
Haydock
Injustice is often the method of becoming rich. (Haydock)
73:21
Berthier
Humble. Hebrew, "the contrite," whether of Israel, or of any other nation, Isaias 66:2. (Berthier)
Menochius
The rich and presumptuous think not of thanking God. (Menochius)
73:23
Calmet
Enemies. Septuagint and St. Augustine read, "servants," and the ancient psalters, "supplicants," (Calmet) which seems to be a mistake of transcribers, (Berthier) as it is contrary to the Hebrew, Chaldean, and Syriac. (Calmet)
Haydock
The sense of both would be good. Erasmus reads iketon, quaerentium, in his edition of St. Jerome. (Haydock)
Worthington
They blaspheme all holy things, and are hardened in wickedness. (Worthington)
Berthier
Such are the times in which we live, 1 Timothy 6:20. (Berthier)
73:4
Their ensigns, etc.... They have fixed their colours for signs and trophies, both on the gates, and on the highest top of the temple: and they knew not, that is, they regarded not the sanctity of the place. This psalm manifestly foretells the time of the Machabees, and the profanation of the temple by Antiochus.
73:13
The sea firm.... By making the waters of the Red Sea stand like firm walls, whilst Israel passed through: and destroying the Egyptians called here dragons from their cruelty, in the same waters, with their king: casting up their bodies on the shore to be stripped by the Ethiopians inhabiting in those days the coast of Arabia.
73:15
Ethan rivers.... That is, rivers which run with strong streams. This was verified in Jordan, Jos. 3, and in Arnon, Num. 21.14.
73:20
The obscure of the earth.... Mean and ignoble wretches have been filled, that is, enriched, with houses of iniquity, that is, with our estates and possessions, which they have unjustly acquired.
73:1
Instruction for the congregation of the faithful in distresse, not to seeke temporal towardes and prosperitie, but to expect spiritual and eternal. S. Aug.
In long persecution the weake beginne to feare, or suspect, that God hath vtterly abandoned them.
73:2
But the stronger pray with confidence,
being assured that God who hath conserued his Church hitherto, from the beginning of the world, wil conserue it st〈…〉 the end.
An other reason why God wil conserue his Church is, because he hath deliuered it often a strong arme; as from bondage in Aegypt, from persecution and oppression in the time of Iudges, and kinges, and lastly redemed it from the tyrannie of the diuel by Christs death.
73:3
Thirdly the pride of the enimies moueth God to reuenge their wickednes, and so to deliuer his owne people.
73:4
They pretend to kepe solemne feastes like to thyne.
They set vp altars against thyn altares, or some new deuised external shew, against the holie Rites of the Church:
73:5
and that in publike places, in the endes of high wayes, or po••es, and pinnacles.
The prophet describeth the maner how persecutors destroy temples, and al sacred thinges.
73:6
Concordance 4. Reg •
73:8
The whole crew, or band of persecutors.
73:9
The weake complaine that God sheweth not w••ted signes, nor sendeth succourse to his people, by raising some prophet. or other meanes to helpe them.
73:11
Concordance Luc. 1. 70.
73:12
The perfect do answer, that God both hath, and wil releeue his people.
73:13
Made the redde sea like waues.
drowned Pharao and his hoste.
73:14
of blacke diuels.
73:15
geuen water out of rockes,
made passage ouer Iordan.
73:20
Ignorant, blind, and barbarous infidels, lodge al kindes of iniquitie in their consciences.
73:21
and therfore it is vnmeete, that faithful people should be in bondage vnder th••.
73:22
These foolish audacious men do continually blaspheme al holie thinges.
73:23
Omite not to punish them,
seing they are obstinate and obdurate in pride, and •• hatred.
73:1
St Augustine of Hippo † AD 430 Expositions on the Book of Psalms 74.3
3. “Wherefore hast Thou repelled us, O God, unto the end?” (
73:2
St Athanasius of Alexandria † AD 373 Against the Arians. (Orationes contra Arianos IV.) 2.21
… This too the Holy Spirit has signified in the Psalms, saying, ‘Thou, Lord, at the beginning hast laid the foundation of the earth ;’ and again, ‘O think upon Thy congregation which Thou hast purchased from the beginning
St Augustine of Hippo † AD 430 Expositions on the Book of Psalms 74.4
4. “Remember Thou Thy congregation, which Thou hast possessed from the beginning” (
73:3
St Augustine of Hippo † AD 430 Expositions on the Book of Psalms 74.5
5. “Lift up Thine hand upon their pride at the end” (
Ecumenical Councils Extracts from the Acts. Session IV 1
… and against those who do not believe as they did, but have attempted to overshadow the truth through their novelty, they have chanted the words of the psalm:
73:4
St Augustine of Hippo † AD 430 Expositions on the Book of Psalms 74.6
6. “And all they have boasted, that hate Thee” (
73:5
Eusebius of Caesarea † AD 339 The Church History of Eusebius 10.4.33
33. These things which were prophesied long ago have been recorded in sacred books; but no longer are they transmitted to us by hearsay merely, but in facts. This desert, this dry land, this widowed and deserted one, ‘whose gates they cut down with axes like wood in a forest, whom they broke down with hatchet and hammer,’
St Augustine of Hippo † AD 430 Expositions on the Book of Psalms 74.6
… at which festival they crucified the Lord. Gathered together they raged, gathered together they perished. “They have set signs, their own signs, and they have not known” (
Pope St Gregory I the Great † AD 604 Register of the Epistles of St. Gregory the Great 9.121
… lxxii. 18 ). For he is cast down when he is lifted up who advances in honours, and falls in manners. For I, following the ways of my Head, had determined to be the scorn of men and the outcast of the people, and to run in the lot of him of whom again it is said by the Psalmist, The ascents in his heart he hath disposed in the valley of tears (
73:6
St Athanasius of Alexandria † AD 373 Second Arian Persecution under Constantius 1
… In this manner it is that the Devil, when he has no truth on his side , attacks and breaks down the doors of them that admit him with axes and hammers
St Augustine of Hippo † AD 430 Expositions on the Book of Psalms 74.7
7. Now let us hasten over the verses following after the destruction of Jerusalem, for the reason that they are both evident, and it doth not please me to tarry over the punishment even of enemies. “As if in a forest of trees with axes, they have cut down the doors thereof at once; with mattock and hammer they have thrown Her down” (
St Augustine of Hippo † AD 430 Expositions on the Book of Psalms 80.7
7. Then what? “Wherefore hast Thou thrown down her enclosure?” ( ver. 12 ). Now ye see the overthrow of that nation of the Jews: already out of another Psalm ye have heard, “with axe and hammer they have thrown her down.”
73:7
Eusebius of Caesarea † AD 339 The Church History of Eusebius 10.4.33
… This desert, this dry land, this widowed and deserted one, ‘whose gates they cut down with axes like wood in a forest, whom they broke down with hatchet and hammer,’ whose books also they destroyed, ‘burning with fire the sanctuary of God, and profaning unto the ground the habitation of his name,’
St Augustine of Hippo † AD 430 Sermons on Selected Lessons of the New Testament 21.26
… so that the expression, “I cast out in the Holy Spirit,” might be understood as if it were said, “I cast out by the Holy Spirit.” For this is the usual style of the Scriptures, “They killed in the sword,” that is, by the sword. They “burnt in the fire,”
St Augustine of Hippo † AD 430 Expositions on the Book of Psalms 74.7
… with mattock and hammer they have thrown Her down” ( ver. 6 ). That is, conspiring together, with firm determination, “with mattock and hammer” they have thrown Her down. “They have burned with fire Thy Sanctuary, they have defiled on the ground the Tabernacle of Thy name” (
73:8
St Augustine of Hippo † AD 430 Expositions on the Book of Psalms 74.8
8. “They have said in their heart (the kindred of them is in one)”—Have said what? “Come ye, let us suppress the solemnities of the Lord from the land” (
73:9
Origen † AD 254 Origen's Commentary on Matthew 14.19
… but there is this also, that the whole synagogue has become unable to stone those who have committed this or that sin; and thousands of things commanded are a sign of the bill of divorcement; and the fact that “there is no more a prophet,” and that they say, “We no longer see signs;”
St Augustine of Hippo † AD 430 Expositions on the Book of Psalms 74.8
… Or indeed would this promissory sign have been taken away, unless there had come that which was being promised? Let us see therefore in this place now the understanding of Asaph, let us see if he profiteth by tribulation. Observe what he saith: “Our signs we have not seen, no longer is there prophet, and us He will not know as yet” (
St Augustine of Hippo † AD 430 Expositions on the Book of Psalms 74.9
… not as yet doth He know thee. See what He hath done, who doth not know thee as yet. For they to whom there hath been no preaching of Him, shall see; and they that have not heard shall understand: and thou yet criest out, “No longer is there a prophet, and us He will not know as yet.”
St Augustine of Hippo † AD 430 Expositions on the Book of Psalms 74.11
11. Asaph hath understood, because on the Title of the Psalm there is, “understanding of Asaph.” And what saith he? “But God, our King before the worlds, hath wrought Salvation in the midst of the earth” ( ver. 12 ). On the one hand we cry, “No longer is there prophet, and us He will not know as yet:”
St Augustine of Hippo † AD 430 Expositions on the Book of Psalms 107.8
“He made the rivers a wilderness” ( ver. 33 ). Waters did run there, prophecies were in course. Seek now a prophet among the Jews; thou findest none. For “He made the outgoings of waters to be thirst.” Let them say, “Now there is no prophet more, and He will not know us any more.”
73:10
St Augustine of Hippo † AD 430 Expositions on the Book of Psalms 74.9
9. “How long, O God, shall the enemy revile?” (
73:11
St Athanasius of Alexandria † AD 373 Against the Arians. (Orationes contra Arianos IV.) 4.26
… And again, what is said in the same John, ‘The Only-begotten Son which is in the bosom of the Father ,’ shews that the Son was ever. For whom John calls Son, Him David mentions in the Psalm as God’s Hand , saying, ‘Why stretchest Thou not forth Thy Right Hand out of Thy bosom
St Augustine of Hippo † AD 430 Expositions on the Book of Psalms 74.10
10. “Wherefore dost Thou turn away Thine hand, and Thy right hand from the midst of Thy bosom unto the end?” (
73:12
St Cyprian of Carthage † AD 258 Three Books of Testimonies Against the Jews 2.30
… she is clothed in many colours. Hear, O daughter, and see, and incline thine ear, and forget thy people and thy father’s house; for the King hath desired thy beauty, for He is thy Lord God.” Also in the seventy-third Psalm: “But God is our King before the world; He hath wrought salvation in the midst of the earth.”
St Cyril of Jerusalem † AD 386 The Catechetical Lectures of S. Cyril 13.28
28. He stretched out His hands on the Cross, that He might embrace the ends of the world; for this Golgotha is the very centre of the earth. It is not my word, but it is a prophet who hath said, Thou hast wrought salvation in the midst of the earth
St Gregory of Nyssa † AD 395 Against Eunomius 1-2.42
… We find that we are drawn round uninterruptedly and evenly, and that we are always following a circumference where there is nothing to grasp; we find the divine life returning upon itself in an unbroken continuity, where no end and no parts can be recognized. Of God’s eternity we say that which we have heard from prophecy
St Gregory of Nyssa † AD 395 Against Eunomius 6.4
… was Jesus in existence first, and after that the Word? was the flesh more ancient than the Godhead? did Gabriel bring glad tidings to Mary before the world was? did not the Man that was in Christ take beginning by way of birth in the days of Cæsar Augustus, while the Word that was God in the beginning is our King, as the prophet testifies, before all ages
St Gregory of Nyssa † AD 395 On the Holy Trinity, and of the Godhead of the Holy Spirit 1
… For the attribute of kingship denotes all dignity; and “our God,” it says, “is King from everlasting
St Augustine of Hippo † AD 430 City of God 17.4
… In the same way we may suitably understand what we read in the psalm, “But God, our King before the worlds, hath wrought salvation in the midst of the earth;”
St Augustine of Hippo † AD 430 Expositions on the Book of Psalms 74.11
11. Asaph hath understood, because on the Title of the Psalm there is, “understanding of Asaph.” And what saith he? “But God, our King before the worlds, hath wrought Salvation in the midst of the earth” (
73:13
Origen † AD 254 Origen's Commentary on the Gospel of John 10.18
… And there will also be a multitude from the Gentiles with peace at the Saviour’s coming to Jerusalem, when He rules over the waters that He may bruise the head of the dragon on the water,
St Cyril of Jerusalem † AD 386 The Catechetical Lectures of S. Cyril 13.36
… without toil, for the sick; since also its grace is from God. It is the Sign of the faithful, and the dread of devils: for He triumphed over them in it, having made a shew of them openly ; for when they see the Cross they are reminded of the Crucified; they are afraid of Him, who bruised the heads of the dragon
St John Chrysostom † AD 407 Homilies on Philippians 6
… 19 .): when it would represent his strength as well as his venom, it calleth him a dragon; as when it says, This dragon “whom thou hast formed to take his pastime therein.” ( Ps. civ. 26 .) Scripture everywhere calleth him a dragon, and a crooked serpent, and an adder (
St Jerome † AD 420 The Letters of St. Jerome 69.6
… Pharaoh and his host, loth to allow God’s people to leave Egypt, are overwhelmed in the Red Sea figuring thereby our baptism. His destruction is thus described in the book of Psalms: “Thou didst endow the sea with virtue through thy power: thou brakest the heads of the dragons in the waters: thou brakest the heads of leviathan in pieces.”
St Augustine of Hippo † AD 430 Expositions on the Book of Psalms 74.12
12. Now therefore, O Asaph, amend thyself according to thy understanding, tell us what sort of Salvation God hath wrought in the midst of the earth. When that earthly Salvation of yours was overthrown, what did He do, what did He promise? “Thou didst confirm in Thy virtue the sea” (
St John of Damascus † AD 749 An Exact Exposition of the Orthodox Faith 4.9
… Thus John’s purification with water was preliminary to receiving the Spirit. The fifth was the baptism of our Lord, whereby He Himself was baptized. Now He is baptized not as Himself requiring purification but as making my purification His own, that He may break the heads of the dragons on the water,
73:14
St Athanasius of Alexandria † AD 373 Festal and Personal Letters of Athanasius 1
… For thus the Holy Ghost, describing sinners and their food, referred to the devil when He said, ‘I have given him to be meat to the people of Æthiopia
St Cyril of Jerusalem † AD 386 The Catechetical Lectures of S. Cyril 3.11
… thus Jesus was baptized, that thereby we again by our participation might receive both salvation and honour. According to Job, there was in the waters the dragon that draweth up Jordan into his mouth . Since, therefore, it was necessary to break the heads of the dragon in pieces
Rufinus of Aquileia † AD 411 A Commentary on the Apostles' Creed 16
… the plains shall be filled with thee, and I will set all the fowls of the air over thee, and I will satiate all the beasts of the earth with thee.” The Prophet David also says, “Thou hast broken the heads of the great dragon, Thou hast given him to be meat to the people of Ethiopia.”
St Augustine of Hippo † AD 430 Expositions on the Book of Psalms 74.13
13. What more after the heads of dragons? For those dragons have their chief, and he is himself the first great dragon. And concerning him what hath He done that hath wrought Salvation in the midst of the earth? Hear: “Thou hast broken the head of the dragon” (
73:15
St Augustine of Hippo † AD 430 Expositions on the Book of Psalms 74.14
14. “Thou hast cleft the fountains and torrents” (
St Augustine of Hippo † AD 430 Expositions on the Book of Psalms 74.15
15. “Thou hast dried up the rivers of Etham” (
73:16
St Augustine of Hippo † AD 430 The Confessions 11.2
… Lord, hear and pity, O Lord my God, light of the blind, and strength of the weak; even also light of those that see, and strength of the strong, hearken unto my soul, and hear it crying “out of the depths.” For unless Thine ears be present in the depths also, whither shall we go? whither shall we cry? “The day is Thine, and the night also is Thine.”
St Augustine of Hippo † AD 430 Expositions on the Book of Psalms 74.16
16. “Thine own is the day and Thine own is the night” (
73:17
St Augustine of Hippo † AD 430 Sermons on Selected Lessons of the New Testament 85.6
… Dare we pray to God if He heareth not sinners? Give me one who may pray: lo, here is One to hear. Give me one who may pray, sift thoroughly the human race from the imperfect to the perfect. Mount up from the spring to the summer; for this we have just chanted. “Thou hast made summer and spring;”
St Augustine of Hippo † AD 430 Expositions on the Book of Psalms 74.17
17. “Thou hast made all the ends of the earth” (
73:18
St Augustine of Hippo † AD 430 Expositions on the Book of Psalms 74.18
18. “Mindful be Thou of this Thy creature” (
73:19
St Jerome † AD 420 The Letters of St. Jerome 108.23
… Paula listened and reported what she heard to me, at the same time pointing out the man. Thus upon me was laid the task of opposing this most noxious viper and deadly pest. It is of such that the Psalmist speaks when he writes: “deliver not the soul of thy turtle dove unto the wild beast,”
St Augustine of Hippo † AD 430 Expositions on the Book of Psalms 74.19
19. But what sayest thou, O Asaph, now in understanding? “Deliver not to the beasts a soul confessing to Thee” (
John Cassian † AD 435 The Twelve Books on the Institutes of the Cœnobia, and the Remedies for the Eight Principal Faults 1.8
… And the carrying of the staff spiritually teaches that they ought never to walk unarmed among so many barking dogs of faults and invisible beasts of spiritual wickedness (from which the blessed David, in his longing to be free, says: “Deliver not, O Lord, to the beasts the soul that trusteth in Thee”),
John Cassian † AD 435 The Conferences of John Cassian 5.15
… For the prophet would not have prayed in these words, “Deliver not up to beasts, O Lord, the soul that confesseth to Thee,”
73:20
St Augustine of Hippo † AD 430 Expositions on the Book of Psalms 74.20
… earth of unrighteous houses.” For by giving heed to earth they have been darkened, concerning whom there is said in another Psalm, “Let their eyes be blinded, that they see not, and their back ever bow Thou down.” With earth, then, “they that have been darkened have been filled, with the earth of unrighteous houses:” because they have unrighteous hearts.…
73:21
St Augustine of Hippo † AD 430 The Confessions 4.1
… Or what am I even at the best, but one sucking Thy milk, and feeding upon Thee, the meat that perisheth not? But what kind of man is any man, seeing that he is but a man? Let, then, the strong and the mighty laugh at us, but let us who are “poor and needy”
St Augustine of Hippo † AD 430 Lectures or Tractates on the Gospel According to St. John 7.1
… This it is that delights and consoles us in all the labors and dangers of this life, your love towards God, and pious zeal, and assured hope, and fervor of spirit. You heard when the psalm was read, “that the needy and poor man cries to God in this world.”
St Augustine of Hippo † AD 430 Expositions on the Book of Psalms 74.21
21. “Let not the humble man be turned away confounded” (
John Cassian † AD 435 The Conferences of John Cassian 3.9
… and a distinction which belongs to those poor who are commended in the gospel by the Lord’s saying: “Blessed are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven;” and in the Psalm: “This poor man cried, and the Lord heard him,” and again: “The poor and needy shall praise thy name.”
John Cassian † AD 435 The Conferences of John Cassian 10.11
… for He says “Blessed are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.” And so one who becomes grandly poor by a poverty of this sort will fulfil this saying of the prophet: “The poor and needy shall praise the name of the Lord.”
73:22
St Augustine of Hippo † AD 430 Expositions on the Book of Psalms 74.22
22. “Arise, O Lord, judge Thou my cause” (
73:23
Tertullian † AD 220 On Patience 2
… bearing with the most ungrateful nations, adoring as they do the toys of the arts and the works of their own hands, persecuting His Name together with His family; bearing with luxury, avarice, iniquity, malignity, waxing insolent daily:
St Augustine of Hippo † AD 430 Expositions on the Book of Psalms 74.23
23. “Forget not the voice of them that implore Thee” (
73:1
… Already Ps. 23:4 (cf. 50:12) requires "a pure heart" of whoever wishes to live beside God, and Ps. 73:1 affirms that God's beloved are the "pure of heart" (bārê lēbhāb); "heart" here is a way of expressing that the ethical reality is possessed and lived, is not appearance nor verbalism. …
73:2
… When Solomon had the Ark transferred from its temporary dwelling on the S. into the Temple he built on the hill of Moriah (II Par. 3:1 and 5:2), this hill was in the poetic language of the Psalms and the Prophets called S. (Ps. 73:2; Is. 8:18; 10:12; Jer. 31:13; Joel 3:17); indeed the glorious name was used, symbolically, for the whole city of Jerusalem (Is. 29:9;
73:19
… maturity (1 Cor. 14:20), with the evangelical art of insinuating oneself even into the heart of one's neighbor, however ill-disposed, in order to win him for God: "be simple as doves" (Matt. 10:16) because the Lord takes up the defense of the simple (Ps. 73:19; Luke 13:34). The simplicity of the dove is properly evangelical purity (ἀκεραιότης, Cant. 2:10; 5:2); this is the perfect one. Simplicity keeps the intention (v.) upright and seeks …
73:23
The hope for the future is expressed clearly in Ps. 16, 11; 49, 16; 73, 23 ff. and often in the book of Wisdom, which speaks of immortality (Sap. 3, 4; 4, 1; 8, 17; 15, 3), of incorruptibility (ibid. 2, 23; 6, 18 ff.) and of the different lot that awaits …
73:25
… (Yahweh, God of life: Gen. 5:24; Deut. 32:39; I Kings 17; II Kings 2:3, 11-12; 4:33-36; 13:21; Ps. 9:2; Wis. 2:24; 16:13) and with deep aspirations of the human heart (permanent familiarity with God: Gen. 3:8; Is. 38:18; Ps. 6:5-6; 73:25; otherworldly justice as the work of Yahweh: Jer. 31:29; Ezek. 18). The first hint appears in the 8th century B.C., under the veil of symbolism in Hos. 6:1-2: "Come, let us return …
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.