Domine, Dominus noster. God is wonderful in his works; especially in mankind, singularly exalted by the incarnation of Christ.
God is magnified & praised for his meruelous worke of creatures, 5. but especially of mankind, singularly exalted by the Incarnation of Christ.
1Unto the end, for the presses: a psalm for David.Salmo di David.Vnto the end for presses, the Psalme of Dauid.In finem, pro torcularibus. Psalmus David. 2O Lord, our Lord, how admirable is thy name in the whole earth! For thy magnificence is elevated above the heavens.Signore, Signor nostro, quanta ammirabile è il nome tuo per tutta quanta la terra! Perocché la tua maestà è elevata fin sopra de' cieli.O LORD our Lord, how meruelous is thy name in the whole earth! Because thy magnificence is eleuated, aboue the heauens.Domine, Dominus noster, / quam admirabile est nomen tuum in universa terra ! / quoniam elevata est magnificentia tua super cælos. 3Out 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.E dalla bocca de' fanciulli, e de' bambini di latte tu bai ricavata per fetta laude contro de' tuoi nemici, per distruggere il nemico, e il vendicativo.Out of the mouth of infantes and sucklinges, thou hast perfected praise because of thine enemies, that thou mayest destroy the enemie and reuenger.Ex ore infantium et lactentium perfecisti laudem propter inimicos tuos, / ut destruas inimicum et ultorem. 4For I will behold thy heavens, the works of thy fingers: the moon and the stars which thou hast founded.Or io miro i tuoi cieli, opere delle tue dita, la luna, e le stelle disposte da te.Because I shal see thy heauens, the workes of thy fingers: the moone and the starres, which thou hast founded.Quoniam videbo cælos tuos, opera digitorum tuorum, / lunam et stellas quæ tu fundasti. 5What is man, that thou art mindful of him? or the son of man, that thou visitest him?Che è l'uomo, che tu di lui ti ricordi; od il figliuolo dell'uomo, che tu lo visiti?What is man, that thou art mindful of him? or the sonne of man, that thou visitest him?Quid est homo, quod memor es ejus ? / aut filius hominis, quoniam visitas eum ? 6Thou hast made him a little less than the angels, thou hast crowned him with glory and honour:Lo hai fatto per alcun poco inferiore agli Angeli, lo hai coronato di gloria, e di onore,Thou hast minished him a litle lesse then Angels; with glorie and honourMinuisti eum paulominus ab angelis; / gloria et honore coronasti eum; 7And hast set him over the works of thy hands.E lo hai costituito sopra le opere delle tue mani.thou hast crowned him: and hast appointed him ouer the worke of thy handes.et constituisti eum super opera manuum tuarum. 8Thou hast subjected all things under his feet, all sheep and oxen: moreover, the beasts also of the fields.Tutte quante le cose hai soggettate a' piedi di lui, le pecore, e i bovi tutti, e le fiere della campagna.Thou hast subiected al thinges vnder his feete, al sheepe and oxen: moreouer also the beastes of the field.Omnia subjecisti sub pedibus ejus, / oves et boves universas, / insuper et pecora campi,
9The birds of the air, and the fishes of the sea, that pass through the paths of the sea.Gli uccelli dell'aria, e i pesci del mare, i quali camminano le vie del mare.The birdes of the ayre, and fishes of the sea; that walke the pathes of the sea.volucres cæli, et pisces maris / qui perambulant semitas maris. 10O Lord, our Lord, how admirable is thy name in the whole earth!Signore, Signor nostro, quanto ammirabile è il nome tuo per tutta quanta la terra!O Lord our Lord, how meruelous is thy name in the whole earth!Domine, Dominus noster, / quam admirabile est nomen tuum in universa terra !
8:1
Berthier
The presses. In Hebrew Gittith, supposed to be a musical instrument: (Challoner) or, "the musicians from Geth," who were famous, and might follow David, 2 Kings 1:20., and 15:18. The Septuagint must have read a v for 1:(Calmet) Gothuth. Yet St. Jerome and Pagnin agree with them; (Haydock) and that sense seems as plausible as any other. The psalm relates to Christ alone; (Matthew 21:16., 1 Corinthians 15:26., and Hebrews 2:6.) who is represented treading the wine-press, Isaias 63:3., and Apocalypse 19:13. (Berthier)
Ferrand
The Jews confess that it speaks of the Messias. (Ferrand.)
Berthier
We may explain it also of the natural prerogatives of man, (Calmet) though (Haydock) this weakens the force of the prophecy. (Berthier)
Worthington
St. Augustine applies the expressions to the good and bad in the Church. (Worthington)
Menochius
It might be sung during the feast of tabernacles, after the vintage. (Menochius)
8:2
Haydock
O Lord, (Jehova) our Lord, (Adonenu). (St. Jerome) Dominator noster, "our Ruler." (Haydock)
Worthington
God is Lord of all by creation, and still more of those who believe. (Worthington)
Haydock
Adonai is pronounced by the Jews, and sometimes applied to men. But they have lost the pronunciation of the first term, which some read Jehovah, (Calmet) or Jaho, (St. Jerome) Jave, etc. (Haydock)
Berthier
Earth. This was verified after the incarnation; (St. Chrysostom) for before, the Gentiles knew it not, and the Jews caused it to be blasphemed. (Berthier)
Calmet
Now all confess the glory of Jesus Christ, the master-piece of God. (Calmet)
Heavens; which are nothing in comparison, (Menochius) for he hath created them. (Worthington) (Habacuc 3:3.)
8:3
Berthier
Praise. But why does the prophet take notice of this proof of Christ's being the Messias, while he passes over his curing the sick? etc. St. Chrysostom answers, because the other miracles had been performed in the old law, but God had never before opened the mouths of infants to proclaim "praise the Lord," as they did when they bore witness to Christ entering the temple. Other commentators greatly weaken this proof. (Berthier)
Calmet
We read that after the passage of the Red Sea, wisdom opened the mouth of the dumb, and made the tongues of infants eloquent; (Wisdom 10:21.) which may be a figurative expression. The prophets and apostles, whom the world looked upon as fools, were chosen to declare the highest mysteries. All nature so clearly proves the existence of Providence, that, if other things were silent, infants would open their mouths to confound the incredulous. The condition of man from his infancy is, in effect, one of the plainest proofs of the divine wisdom. His imitative powers, the ease with which he takes his mother's milk, etc., are something surprising. Hippocrates even, concludes hence, that the child must have sucked, even in the womb, as the art is soon lost, and not easily recovered. God seems to be particularly pleased with the praises of children, Micheas 2:9., and Joel 2:16. St. Augustine admires how the Scriptures have been proportioned to the capacity of infants. Hebrew, "Thou hast founded strength." (Aquila) (Calmet)
Haydock
But St. Jerome retains praise, as our Saviour himself quotes it, Matthew 21:16. (Haydock)
Calmet
Avenger. The old Vulgate read defensorem (Haydock) in the same sense. St. Chrysostom explains it of the Jews; and other Fathers understand heretics and the devil. (St. Augustine, etc.) (Calmet)
8:4
Calmet
Fingers, as if they had been formed in play, while the Incarnation is the work of God's right hand. (Eusebius) (Calmet)
Heavens, moon, and stars, denote the Church. No mention is made of the sun, because it is the emblem of Christ, who was the Creator. (Berthier) (Apocalypse 12:1.)
Menochius
This text proves that the world was not formed by angels, as some ancient heretics asserted. David, perhaps, wrote this at night; and the sun and stars are not seen together. (Menochius)
8:5
Berthier
Him. The prophet considers the nature of man at such a distance from the divinity. Being, nevertheless, united with it in Jesus Christ, it is raised far above the angels, Hebrews 2:6. (Berthier)
Calmet
When we reflect on the meanness of our nature, on the one hand, and on what God has done for it on the other, we are lost in astonishment. The pagans were aware of the corporal infirmities of man, (Seneca Consol. xi.) but not of his spiritual disorders. Hebrew has here, the son of Adam, or one of the lowest class; and not of ish, which means a person of nobility, vir, Psalm 4:4. (Calmet)
Haydock
Yet Christ applies to himself the former appellation, to shew us a pattern of humility. (Haydock)
St. Augustine inquires, what difference there is between man or the son. The Hebrew v, means, likewise, and; yet or would have been better, Exodus 21:16.
Amama
"Whether he have sold him, or he be in his hand." (Amama)
8:6
Calmet
Angels. Elohim means also "God," as St. Jerome, etc., explain it. Thou hast placed man like a deity upon earth. But St. Paul adopts the sense of the Septuagint. (Calmet)
Theodoret
St. Jerome doubted whether the epistle to the Hebrews belonged to him or he would have done the same. Some of the Fathers suppose, (Berthier) that the prophet speaks of man before the fall. (Theodoret)
Calmet
Yet he has Christ principally in view. (Calmet)
Calmet
A little less may be better rendered, "for a little while:" brachu ti, Acts 5:34., and Isaias 10:25.; modico, Hebrews ii. Notwithstanding the prerogatives of Adam, before his fall, what is said by the prophet and St. Paul can be true of none but Christ; who was subject to death only for a short space, and quickly rose from the tomb, Lord of all, 1 Corinthians 15:26. If we do not see it yet, (Hebrews 2:8., and Psalm 69:2.) our faith must not waver. He is crowned, and will one day assert his dominion. (Berthier) (Matthew 28:18., and Ephesians 1:19.) (Calmet)
Worthington
In his assumed nature, Christ became less than the angels; but he has raised it above them, and is appointed Lord of angels, men, and creatures of every description. The sea and the winds obey him, Matthew viii. (Worthington)
8:8
St. Athanasius
All sheep. St. Paul did not judge it necessary to specify these things, as they are included in the word all. (Berthier) These tame cattle designate the believing Jews; beasts, the Gentile converts; birds, the proud; fishes, the voluptuous. (St. Athanasius)
Hesychius
The birds may also be put for men of genius, who dive into the secrets of theology; and fishes, for anxious worldlings. (Hesychius)
Sts. Augustine and Jerome understand that people who labour not for their salvation, or who are attached to the earth, men who rise up against God, or never elevate their thoughts to heaven, are emblematically specified by these creatures.
8:9
Calmet
Sea. All things are subjected to man's dominion., Genesis 1:26., and 9:2. (Calmet)
Lact. ira. xiii
"The Stoics are in the right, who say that the world was made for us. For all its parts and productions are contrived for man's benefit." (Lact. ira. xiii.)
8:10
Worthington
Earth. This repetition of the first verse insinuates, that as God was admirable in giving man the power to avoid sin and death; so he is wonderful in raising him again, in such a state that he can sin no more. (Worthington)
8:1
The presses.... In Hebrew, Gittith, supposed to be a musical instrument.
8:1
1. Presses.] Most Hebrew Doctors say the word Gittith, may either signifie the place, where this Psalme was made, or the musical instrument, on which it Presses signify Christs Passiō. was song. But most Christian Doctors expound it literally of Christs Passion, who was stretched on the Crosse, and al his sacred bloud pressed, and drawne out of his bodie. VVhich Metaphor Isaias also vseth, demanding of Christ: Isa. 63. VVhy is thy clothing redde, and thy garments as theirs, that tread in the vine presse? and answereth in Christs person: I haue troden the presse alone. S. Augustin also applieth it morally to the Church, where Christ is the vine, the Morally i• signifieth the trauels of the Church militant. Apostles are the branches, & spreaders (that is preachers) of the Ghospel, Christians are the grapes, Christian vertues are the wine. Namely patience, and fortitude in afflictions. VVherby the good are purified, and seuered from amiddes the reprobate, as wine is pressed out of the grapes, barreled, and laid vp in sellers, and the huskes and carnels cast to hogges, or other beastes. vin•ci•. Gods prouidence in protecting the good and permitting euil. The 3. key.
Belonging to the newe Testament.
Suffering of Christ, and of Christians.
8:2
God the lord of al by creation, is our singular lord, that beleue and trust in him.
God more excelent then the heauens, he being the creator, they a creature.
8:3
fulfilled whē Christ coming into Ierusalem, children sang Ozanna Mat. 21.
Mat. ••.
8:6
The Sonne in assumpted humāe nature became lesse then Angels.
Concordance Heb. 2.
But in him mans nature is exalted aboue Angels.
8:7
Christ the Lord of al creatures.
8:8
yea of Angels. Heb. 2.
Not only al reasonable creatures, but al beastes, and other thinges obey him. The sea and the windes obey him. Mat. 8.
Concordance Gen. 1. v. 27. 1. Cor. ••.
8:9
The same end & beginning signifie that as God was meruelous in creating man in so happie state, that if he would, he might haue auoyded both sinne & death: so he is meruelous in that he so rewardeth the blessed in the resurrestion, that they can neither sinne non dye.
8:1
St Gregory of Nazianzus † AD 389 Select Orations of Saint Gregory Nazianzen 28
… And when I looked a little closer, I saw, not the First and unmingled Nature, known to Itself—to the Trinity, I mean; not That which abideth within the first veil, and is hidden by the Cherubim; but only that Nature, which at last even reaches to us. And that is, as far as I can learn, the Majesty, or as holy David calls it, the Glory
St John Chrysostom † AD 407 Homilies on Ephesians 23
… And this implies two things, both that we must depart out of Egypt, and that, whilst we stay, we must stay henceforth as in a strange country; “for our citizenship,” saith he, “is in Heaven” ( Philip. iii. 20 .); and that all our life long we should ever be prepared, so that when we are called we may not put it off, but say, “My heart is fixed.” (
St Augustine of Hippo † AD 430 Expositions on the Book of Psalms 8.4
4. Accordingly it is said, “O Lord, our Lord, how admirable is Thy Name in all the earth!” (
8:2
St Irenaeus of Lyons † AD 202 Against Heresies 1.14.8
… As, then, he says, the seven powers glorify the Word, so also does the complaining soul of infants. For this reason, too, David said: “Out of the mouth of babes and sucklings Thou hast perfected praise;”
Tertullian † AD 220 A Treatise on the Soul 19
… It would be very strange indeed that infancy were naturally so lively, if it had not mental power; and naturally so capable of impression and affection, if it had no intellect. But (we hold the contrary): for Christ, by “accepting praise out of the mouth of babes and sucklings,”
St Hippolytus † AD 235 The Refutation of All Heresies 6.43
… As, then, he says, the seven powers glorify the Logos, so also does the sorrowing soul in babes (magnify Him). And on account of this, he says, David likewise has declared, “Out of the mouths of babes and sucklings Thou hast perfected praise.”
Origen † AD 254 Origen's Commentary on Matthew 11.17
… and He called “the things which are not,” handing over to them an intelligent nation who were able to admit “the foolishness of the preaching,” and of His good pleasure saved those who believe in this, that He might refute “the things which are,” having perfected praise for Himself, “out of the mouths of babes and sucklings,”
St Methodius † AD 311 Oration on the Palms 1
… Of whom shall we inquire? Tell us, O prophet, who is this that cometh in the name of the Lord? He will say it is not my part to-day to teach you, for He hath consecrated the school to infants, who hath out of the mouth of babes and sucklings perfected praise to destroy the enemy and the avenger,
Eusebius of Caesarea † AD 339 The Church History of Eusebius 10.4.28
28. For when the Great Shepherd had driven away the wild animals and wolves and every cruel and savage beast, and, as the divine oracles say, ‘had broken the jaws of the lions,’ he thought good to collect again her children in the same place, and in the most righteous manner he set up the fold of her flock, ‘to put to shame the enemy and avenger,’
St Ambrose of Milan † AD 397 Selections from the Letters of St. Ambrose sermon-against-auxentius-on-th.20
20. The Gerasenes could not bear the presence of Christ; these, worse than the Gerasenes, cannot endure the praises of Christ. They see boys singing of the glory of Christ, for it is written: “Out of the mouths of babes and sucklings Thou hast perfected praise.”
St Augustine of Hippo † AD 430 The Confessions 13.15
17. Let us look, O Lord, “upon the heavens, the work of Thy fingers;” clear from our eyes that mist with which Thou hast covered them. There is that testimony of Thine which giveth wisdom unto the little ones. Perfect, O my God, Thy praise out of the mouth of babes and sucklings.
St Augustine of Hippo † AD 430 A Treatise on the Predestination of the Saints 2.25
… Therefore let us believe in His mercy in the case of those who are delivered, and in His truth in the case of those who are punished, without any hesitation; and let us not endeavour to look into that which is inscrutable, nor to trace that which cannot be found out. Because out of the mouth of babes and sucklings He perfects His praise,
St Augustine of Hippo † AD 430 Expositions on the Book of Psalms 8.5
5. “Out of the mouth of babes and sucklings Thou hast made perfect praise, because of Thine enemies” (
St Augustine of Hippo † AD 430 Expositions on the Book of Psalms 11.6
… 3 ). And this let her say not against these only, but against all heretics. For they have all, as far as in them lies, destroyed the praise which God hath perfected out of the mouth of babes and sucklings,
St Augustine of Hippo † AD 430 Expositions on the Book of Psalms 79.2
… hence that so great multitude who went before and followed after His beast, saying, “Blessed is He that cometh in the name of the Lord:” among whom was also that company of children, in whom He declared to have been fulfilled, “Out of the mouth of infants and sucklings Thou hast perfected praise.”
8:3
St Justin Martyr † AD 165 Dialogue with Trypho 114
… For I have shown that Christ is oftentimes called a Stone in parable, and in figurative speech Jacob and Israel. And again, when He says, ‘I shall behold the heavens, the works of Thy fingers,’
St Melito of Sardis † AD 180 Melito, the Philosopher 9
The fingers of the Lord —The lawgiver Moses, or the prophets. In the Psalm: “I will regard the heavens,” that is, the books of the Law and the Prophets, “the works of Thy fingers.”
St Irenaeus of Lyons † AD 202 Against Heresies 4.11.3
… highest.” But to the envious wicked stewards, who circumvented those under them, and ruled over those that had no great intelligence, and for this reason were unwilling that the king should come, and who said to Him, “Hearest thou what these say?” did the Lord reply, “Have ye never read, Out of the mouths of babes and sucklings hast Thou perfected praise?”
Origen † AD 254 Origen De Principiis 2.3.6
… for the things which are seen are temporal, but the things which are unseen are eternal. For we know that if our earthly house of this tabernacle were dissolved, we have a building of God, an house not made with hands, eternal in the heavens.” And when he says elsewhere, “Because I shall see the heavens, the works of Thy fingers,”
St Cyril of Jerusalem † AD 386 The Catechetical Lectures of S. Cyril 4.5
5. This Father of our Lord Jesus Christ is not circumscribed in any place , nor is He less than the heaven; but the heavens are the works of His fingers
St Gregory of Nazianzus † AD 389 Select Orations of Saint Gregory Nazianzen 28
… For even of this I would have you know that you have only a shadow when you hear the words, “I will consider the heavens, the work of Thy fingers, the moon and the stars,”
St Ambrose of Milan † AD 397 On the Holy Spirit 3.5
32. But those which are the works of the hands are also the works of the fingers, for it is equally written: “For I will behold Thy heavens, the works of Thy fingers, the moon, and the stars, which Thou hast established.”
St Jerome † AD 420 To Pammachius against John of Jerusalem 9
… David was certainly in doubt even as regards the appearance of the heavens:
Sulpicius Severus † AD 420 On the Life of St. Martin 9
… Now, the Psalm ran thus: “Out of the mouth of babes and sucklings thou hast perfected praise because of thine enemies, that thou mightest destroy the enemy and the avenger.”
St Augustine of Hippo † AD 430 The Confessions 13.15
17. Let us look, O Lord, “upon the heavens, the work of Thy fingers;”
St Augustine of Hippo † AD 430 Expositions on the Book of Psalms 8.7
7. “For I shall see Thy heavens, the works of Thy fingers” (
St John of Damascus † AD 749 An Exact Exposition of the Orthodox Faith 2.7
The course which the Creator appointed for them to run is unceasing and remaineth fixed as He established them. For the divine David says, The moon and the stars which Thou establishedst
8:4
St John Chrysostom † AD 407 Homilies on Philippians 4
… And what if He caused overwhelming rain? what if He rained down fire? what if He sent flies? But what do I say? if He were so to do as He once did, would not all perish? If He were to shake the earth, would not all perish? It is now seasonable to say, “What is man, that Thou art mindful of him?” (
St John Chrysostom † AD 407 Homilies on 1 Timothy 14
… xxvi. 9 .) And the Psalms of David, that cause fountains of tears to flow. For when he sings, “I am weary with my groaning, all the night make I my bed to swim; I water my couch with my tears” ( Ps. vi. 6 .): and, again, “I have eaten ashes like bread.” ( Ps. cii. 9 .) “What is man that thou art mindful of him?” (
St Augustine of Hippo † AD 430 On Patience 19
19. Since the case is so, what is man, while in this life he uses his own proper will, ere he choose and love God, but unrighteous and ungodly? “What,” I say, “is man,” a creature going astray from the Creator, unless his Creator “be mindful of him,”
St Augustine of Hippo † AD 430 Sermons on Selected Lessons of the New Testament 31.1
1. The divine lessons, which we have just heard as they were being read, warn us to gather in a stock of virtues, to fortify a Christian heart, against the offences which were predicted to come, and this from the mercy of the Lord. “For what is man,” saith Scripture, “saving that Thou art mindful of him?”
St Augustine of Hippo † AD 430 Sermons on Selected Lessons of the New Testament 60.2
… There is hope then, for the children, that is, even until the day of judgment come. Man ascribes much to himself. Yet what is man? A righteous man is something great. But yet a righteous man is righteous only by the grace of God. “For what is man, save that thou art mindful of him?”
St Augustine of Hippo † AD 430 Expositions on the Book of Psalms 5.8
… Now that many men regenerated and perfected, are rightly called the multitude of God’s mercy, who can deny; when it is most truly said, “What is man that Thou art mindful of him, or the son of man that Thou visitest him?
St Augustine of Hippo † AD 430 Expositions on the Book of Psalms 8.10
10. “What is man, that Thou art mindful of him? or the son of man, that Thou visitest him?” (
St Augustine of Hippo † AD 430 Expositions on the Book of Psalms 11.8
… But do they turn away God’s eyes from such as would be so? “For His eyes look upon the poor.” Is it to be feared lest, in the crowd of the rich, He may not be able to see the few poor, whom He brings up in safe keeping in the bosom of the Catholic Church? “His eyelids question the sons of men.” Here by that rule I would wish to take “the sons of men”
St Augustine of Hippo † AD 430 Expositions on the Book of Psalms 118.7
7. “I have been driven on like a heap of sand, so that I was falling, but the Lord upheld me” ( ver. 13 ). For though there were a great multitude of believers, that might be compared to the countless sand, and brought into one communion as into one heap; yet “what is man, save Thou be mindful of Him?”
8:5
Tertullian † AD 220 An Answer to the Jews 14
… and there was not in Him attractiveness or glory. And we saw Him, and He had not attractiveness or grace; but His mien was unhonoured, deficient in comparison of the sons of men,” “a man set in the plague, and knowing how to bear infirmity:” to wit as having been set by the Father “for a stone of offence,” and “made a little lower” by Him “than angels,”
Tertullian † AD 220 The Five Books Against Marcion 3.7
… “Thou art fairer,” says (the Psalmist), “than the children of men; grace is poured into Thy lips; therefore God hath blessed Thee for ever. Gird Thy sword upon Thy thigh, O most mighty, with Thy glory and Thy majesty.” For the Father, after making Him a little lower than the angels, “will crown Him with glory and honour, and put all things under His feet.”
Tertullian † AD 220 On the Flesh of Christ 14
… I may, then, more easily say, if such an expression is to be hazarded, that the Son is actually an angel, that is, a messenger, from the Father, than that there is an angel in the Son. Forasmuch, however, as it has been declared concerning the Son Himself, “Thou hast made Him a little lower than the angels”
Tertullian † AD 220 Against Praxeas 9
… because the Father is not the same as the Son, since they differ one from the other in the mode of their being. For the Father is the entire substance, but the Son is a derivation and portion of the whole, as He Himself acknowledges: “My Father is greater than I.” In the Psalm His inferiority is described as being “a little lower than the angels.”
Tertullian † AD 220 Against Praxeas 23
… whither the Son also Himself looked up, and prayed, and made supplication of the Father; whither also He taught us to raise ourselves, and pray, “Our Father which art in heaven,” etc., —although, indeed, He is everywhere present. This heaven the Father willed to be His own throne; while He made the Son to be “a little lower than the angels,”
St Methodius † AD 311 From the Discourse on the Resurrection, Part I 1
… but in seeing God and cultivating life, under the direction of Christ. For He did not say “they shall be angels,” but like angels, in being, for instance, crowned, as it is written, with glory and honour; differing a little from the angels,
St Basil the Great † AD 379 De Spiritu Sancto 24
55. Furthermore man is “crowned with glory and honour,”
St Basil the Great † AD 379 The Letters 8.5
… But there is another sense underlying the expression. In what is it extraordinary that He who “is the Word and was made flesh” confesses His Father to be greater than Himself, when He was seen in glory inferior to the angels, and in form to men? For “Thou hast made him a little lower than the angels,”
St Gregory of Nazianzus † AD 389 Select Orations of Saint Gregory Nazianzen 7.23
23. Would that I might mortify my members that are upon the earth, would that I might spend my all upon the spirit, walking in the way that is narrow and trodden by few, not that which is broad and easy. For glorious and great are its consequences, and our hope is greater than our desert. What is man, that Thou art mindful of him?
St Ambrose of Milan † AD 397 Exposition of the Christian Faith 2.8
63. Moreover, to the end that we might know Him to have been “made lower,” by taking upon Him a body, David has shown that he is prophesying of a man, saying: “What is man, that Thou art mindful of him, or the son of man, but that Thou visitest him? Thou hast made him a little lower than the angels.”
St John Chrysostom † AD 407 A Commentary on the Acts of the Apostles 32
… but if we know what it is, we shall exhibit much zeal, and reap the greatest profits. For from this nature is wrought a king’s robe, from this a king’s house, from this nature are fashioned a king’s members: all are kingly. Let us not then misuse our own nature to our hurt. He has made us “a little lower than the angels,” (
St John Chrysostom † AD 407 The Homilies of St. John Chrysostom on Paul's Epistle to the Romans 28
… xlix. 15 .) Whence was our body made? he also tells us; “He remembereth that we are dust” ( ib. ciii. 14 ); and again, whither goeth it away? “It shall return to its dust.” ( ib. civ. 29 .) Why was this universe made? For thee: “For thou crownest him with glory and honor, and settest him over the works of Thy hands.” (
St Jerome † AD 420 Against Jovinianus 2.5
… man, a rational animal, in a sense the owner and tenant of the world, is subject to God, and worships his Creator, so all things living were created either for the food of men, or for clothing, or for tilling the earth, or conveying the fruits thereof, or to be the companions of man, and hence, because they are man’s helpers, they have their name jumenta .
St Augustine of Hippo † AD 430 On the Holy Trinity 4.13
… For our Redeemer says, “Greater love hath no man than this, that a man lay down his life for his friends.” Wherefore also the devil thought himself superior to the Lord Himself, inasmuch as the Lord in His sufferings yielded to him; for of Him, too, is understood what is read in the Psalm, “For Thou hast made Him a little lower than the angels:”
St Augustine of Hippo † AD 430 Expositions on the Book of Psalms 8.11
11. Therefore was the son of man first visited in the person of the very Lord Man, born of the Virgin Mary. Of whom, by reason of the very weakness of the flesh, which the Wisdom of God vouchsafed to bear, and the humiliation of the Passion, it is justly said, “Thou hast lowered Him a little lower than the Angels” (
John Cassian † AD 435 The Seven Books of John Cassian on the Incarnation of the Lord, Against Nestorius 6.23
… The holy Scriptures abound in such instances of ways of speaking: but it would take too long to relate them all. For so when the Psalm says, “What is a man that Thou art mindful of Him,”
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Tertullian † AD 220 The Five Books Against Marcion 2.27
… actually communed with patriarchs and prophets; was the Son of the Creator; was His Word; whom God made His Son by emitting Him from His own self, and thenceforth set Him over every dispensation and (administration of) His will, making Him a little lower than the angels, as is written in David.
Tertullian † AD 220 The Five Books Against Marcion 3.7
… He hath no form nor comeliness; and we beheld Him, and He was without beauty: His form was disfigured;” “marred more than the sons of men; a man stricken with sorrows, and knowing how to bear our infirmity;” “placed by the Father as a stone of stumbling and a rock of offence;” “made by Him a little lower than the angels;”
Tertullian † AD 220 The Five Books Against Marcion 4.21
… therefore he was no object to be ashamed of from the curse of the cross, the real endurance of which he escaped, because wanting in bodily substance. Never, therefore, could he have said, “Whosoever shall be ashamed of me.” But as for our Christ, He could do no otherwise than make such a declaration; “made” by the Father “a little lower than the angels,”
Tertullian † AD 220 On the Flesh of Christ 15
… Such views are not improper for heathens and they are fit and natural for the heretics too. For, indeed, what difference is there between them, except it be that the heathen, in not believing, do believe; while the heretics, in believing, do not believe? Then, again, they read: “Thou madest Him a little less than angels;”
Tertullian † AD 220 Against Praxeas 16
… of (in their assumptions) as unworthy of God, in order to discredit the Creator, not considering that these circumstances are suitable enough for the Son, who was one day to experience even human sufferings—hunger and thirst, and tears, and actual birth and real death, and in respect of such a dispensation “made by the Father a little less than the angels.”
St Gregory of Nyssa † AD 395 Against Eunomius 1-2.16
Let us first, then, ascertain the meaning of this word ‘subjection’ in Scripture. To whom is it applied? The Creator, honouring man in his having been made in His own image, ‘hath placed’ the brute creation ‘in subjection under his feet;’ as great David relating this favour (of God) exclaimed in the Psalms
St Gregory of Nyssa † AD 395 On the Making of Man 17.2
… but whatever the mode of increase in the angelic nature is (unspeakable and inconceivable by human conjectures, except that it assuredly exists), it would have operated also in the case of men, who were “made a little lower than the angels
St Ambrose of Milan † AD 397 Exposition of the Christian Faith 4.11
… exist together in Him, and He is above all the heavens.” The Son, therefore, exists not “amongst” but above all things, being, indeed, after the flesh, of the people, of the Jews, but yet at the same time God over all, blessed for ever, having a Name which is above every name, it being said of Him, “Thou hast put all things in subjection under His feet.”
St Ambrose of Milan † AD 397 Exposition of the Christian Faith 5.13
155. Or as every creature is to the Son of God, for it is rightly written: “Thou hast put all things in subjection under His feet”?
St John Chrysostom † AD 407 Homilies on Second Corinthians 3
… A crown too he hath of curious workmanship , that of glory, that of the tender mercies of God. For saith [the Psalmist], “Bless the Lord, O my soul, that crowneth thee with pity and tender mercies.” ( Ps. ciii. 2, 4 .) Again, that of glory: “For thou hast crowned him with glory and honor.” (
St Augustine of Hippo † AD 430 Expositions on the Book of Psalms 8.11
… 5 ). But that glorifying is added, in which He rose and ascended up into heaven; “With glory,” he says, “and with honour hast Thou crowned Him; and hast set Him over the works of Thine hands” (
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Tertullian † AD 220 The Five Books Against Marcion 5.17
… “Sit Thou on my right hand, until I make Thine enemies Thy footstool.” For in another passage the Spirit says to the Father concerning the Son: “Thou hast put all things under His feet.”
St Gregory of Nyssa † AD 395 Against Eunomius 2.14
… For he describes Him as “once for all made subject,” enthralling the guiding and governing Spirit in I know not what form of subjection. For this expression of “subjection” has many significations in Holy Scripture, and is understood and used with many varieties of meaning. For the Psalmist says that even irrational nature is put in subjection
St Ambrose of Milan † AD 397 On the Duties of the Clergy 1.28
… “Thou hast put all things under his feet; all sheep and oxen, yea, and the beasts of the field, the fowls of the air, and the fishes of the sea.”
St Augustine of Hippo † AD 430 The Confessions 5.3
… nor do they slay their own pride, as fowls of the air, nor their own curiosities, by which (like the fishes of the sea) they wander over the unknown paths of the abyss, nor their own extravagance, as the “beasts of the field,”
St Augustine of Hippo † AD 430 Expositions on the Book of Psalms 8.12
… And yet he does not seem, as it were, to subjoin any great thing, when he says, “All sheep and oxen, yea, moreover, the beasts of the field, birds of the air, and the fish of the sea, which walk through the paths of the sea” (
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St Basil the Great † AD 379 The Hexæmeron 3.8
… We often find the visible region called heaven, on account of the density and continuity of the air within our ken, and deriving its name “heaven” from the word which means to see. It is of it that Scripture says, “The fowl of the air,”
St Basil the Great † AD 379 The Letters 188
… Yet I must not carelessly pass by the question started by an enquiring mind. At the creation of the world, birds of the air and the fishes of the sea had the same origin;
St John Chrysostom † AD 407 The Homilies of St. John Chrysostom on the Gospel of St. John 45
Was then the manna not from heaven? How then is it said to be from heaven? In the same manner as Scripture speaketh of “fowls of heaven” (
St Augustine of Hippo † AD 430 The Confessions 12.26
… I should have wished truly had I then been Moses (for we all come from the same mass; and what is man, saving that Thou art mindful of him?
St Augustine of Hippo † AD 430 On the Holy Trinity 2.18
… namely, from Him who says to Him in the Psalms, “Thou art my Son; this day have I begotten Thee; ask of me, and I shall give Thee the heathen for Thine inheritance;” and who has “put all things under His feet.”
St Augustine of Hippo † AD 430 Expositions on the Book of Psalms 8.13
… But the addition of “moreover” besides, obliges us, beyond question, to recognise some difference or another. But under this word, “moreover,” not only “beasts of the field,” but also “birds of the air, and fish of the sea, which walk through the paths of the sea” (
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Supra posuit Psalmum in quo David orabat pro sua persecutione; hic ponit Psalmum ad gratiarum actionem: et primo praemittitur Psalmus pro beneficiis collatis toto humano generi. Secundo alius pro beneficiis collatis sibi pro destructione inimicorum, vel pro bonis concessis. Tertio pro malis sublatis, ibi, confitebor: nam hic exprimit affectionem hominis considerantis beneficia Dei concessa humano generi, et gratias agentis. Titulus, in finem Psalmi David pro torcularibus quia aliud est supra expositum, exponam hic solum ultimum. Ubi considerandum est, quod Deut. 16, dicitur: septem diebus facies festum tabernaculorum, quando de area et torculari colliges fruges tuos et cetera. Sciendum enim est, quod David specialem devotionem habebat in festis celebrandis: et aliquid faciebat speciale ad laudem Dei. Festum autem tabernaculorum praecipuum erat. Et hoc fiebat in vindemiis in commemorationem divini beneficii, quando eduxit de Aegypto filios Israel in tabernaculis, et induxit in terram promissionis ubi sunt fructus: et ideo oportebat quod haberent fructus pulcherrimos, quo tempore erant torcularia; et ideo dicitur pro torcularibus. Hoc ad litteram. Sed spiritualiter torcular est Ecclesia: Isa. 5: plantavit vineam electam, torcular extruxit in ea: Matth. 21: plantavit vineam, et fodit in ea torcular. Dicit ergo pro torcularibus, idest Ecclesiis orbis: et dicitur Ecclesia torcular, quia sicut in torculari separatur vinum a vinatiis, sic in Ecclesia boni separantur a malis opere ministrorum: etsi non loco semper, affectu tamen. Eadem ratione dicitur et area: quia separatio fit grani a paleis. Item a verbis litteraliter positis separatur sensus spiritualis. Item torcularia sunt martyria, in quibus fit separatio animarum a corporibus, dum corpora eorum qui pro Christi nomine afflictione et persecutione calcantur, quassatim remanent in terra, animae vero ad requiem in caelestibus emanant. Psalmus iste dividitur in duas partes. Primo enim Psalmista admiratur divinam excellentiam. Secundo ejus clementiam, ibi, quid est homo. Circa primum duo facit. Primo ostendit majestatem Dei esse admirabilem. Secundo esse manifestam, ibi, ex ore infantium. Circa primum duo facit: quia primo ponit eum mirabilem. Secundo rationem dicti manifestat, ibi, quoniam elevata et cetera. Dicit ergo, domine omnium: Esther 13: dominus omnium tu es; sed specialiter dominus noster, qui te colimus, tibi adhaeremus. Hieronymus habet, dominator noster: Judic. 8: non dominabor vestri, nec filius meus, sed dominabitur super vos dominus. Quam admirabile est nomen tuum etc. scilicet divinitatis: Psal. 92: mirabiles elationes maris et cetera. Genes. 32: cur quaeris nomen meum quod est mirabile? Item Christi incarnati: Isa. 9: vocabitur nomen ejus admirabilis. Sed numquid solum in Judaea, ut dicunt Judaei, vel in Africa, ut Donatistae? Non; sed in universa terra: Malach.: ab ortu solis usque ad occasum, magnum est nomen meum in gentibus. Ratio admirationis subjungitur, quoniam elevata est magnificentia tua, quia in caelis apparet magnitudo tua. Admiratio est quando aliquis videt effectum, et ignorat causam. Dupliciter est ergo aliqua causa admirabilis: vel quia ignota totaliter, vel quia non producit effectum manifestantem causam perfecte. Primum non est in Deo: quia producit effectum: Rom. 1. Invisibilia Dei per ea quae facta sunt et cetera. Producit dico effectum, non tamen manifestantem perfecte causam: et ideo remanet admirabilis: et hoc est quod dicit: magnificentia tua, idest laus vel virtus tua, quae potest facere magna. Est elevata super caelos, improportionaliter excedens factionem caelorum. Unde excludit errorem dicentium, quod Deus sit forma caeli: esset enim secundum hoc proportionatus caelis. Item dicentium quod agit ex necessitate naturae: quia non extenderet se supra caelos: tamen potest in infinitum majus facere. Vel super caelos, idest Scripturas, quia plus est quam in Scripturis commendetur: Eccl. 43: glorificantes Deum quantumcumque potestis, supervalebit adhuc, et admirabilis magnificentia ejus. Vel magnificentia tua, idest filius tuus Deus homo, elevata est, in ascensione, super caelos: Ephes. 4: qui descendit, ipse est qui ascendit super omnes caelos et cetera.
Deinde cum dicit, ex ore, ostendit quod est maxime manifesta. Et primo ostendit manifestationem. Secundo ejus rationem, ibi, quoniam videbo. Quod sit manifesta, probat; quia illud est manifestum quod est omnibus inditum, quantumcumque simplicibus, quasi quadam naturalis cognitione. Duplex namque est genus hominum, qui consequuntur naturalem et rectum instinctum, sicut sunt simplices, vel sapientes. Quod sapientes cognoscant Deum, hoc non est magnum; sed quod simplices sic. Sunt autem quidam qui naturalem instinctum pervertunt: et isti cognitionem Dei repellunt: Ps. 81: nescierunt idest nescire voluerunt, neque intellexerunt et cetera. Job 22: dixerunt Deo, recede a nobis; scientiam viarum tuarum nolumus. Deus autem facit ut per illos, idest per simplices, qui sequuntur naturalem instinctum, confundantur qui pervertunt naturalem instinctum. Per infantes designantur simplices: 1 Pet. 2: sicut modo geniti infantes, rationabiles sine dolo et cetera. Dicit ergo, admirabile quidem est nomen tuum, ita tamen quod ex ore infantium et lactentium perfecisti laudem, qui interius instigas ad hoc: et hoc propter inimicos tuos; qui adversantur scientiae et cognitioni tuae: Phil. 3: inimicos crucis Christi et cetera.
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Ut destruas inimicum et ultorem, quemcumque persecutorem. Vel Pharaonem qui velit ulcisci contra confitentem nomen tuum: 2 Cor. 10: consilia destruentes, et omnem altitudinem extollentem se adversus scientiam Dei. Vel tyrannum qui armis impugnat nomen sanctum tuum: 1 Pet. 2: ut benefacientes obmutescere faciatis imprudentium hominum ignorantiam. Hoc fecit Christus: nam Matth. 21, de pueris Hebraeorum respondit Christus, quod ex eorum verbis perfecta sit laus, qui spiritus sancti instinctu laudabant: quod tamen videbatur pueriliter agi. Hoc locum habet quando simplices recognoscunt Deum, et alii pervertunt studia cognitionis naturalis, ne cognoscant ipsum Deum. Item hoc in apostolis qui sine litteris et idiotae: Act. 4: simplices sicut columbae: Matth. 10: et sicut oves in medio luporum; et destruxerunt omnes inimicos Christi. 1 Cor. 1: quae stulta sunt mundi elegit Deus, ut confundantur sapientes, et infirma et cetera.
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Consequenter hujus manifestationis rationem subnectit dicens, quoniam. Tullius dicit in Lib. de natura deorum, et fuit dictum etiam ab Aristotele, quamvis in ejus libris quae apud nos habentur non inveniatur, quod si aliquis homo intraret palatium quod videret bene dispositum, nullus est ita amens, qui licet non videret quomodo factum fuerit, quin percipiat quod fabricatum sit ab aliquo. Nos intramus mundum, nec videmus quomodo factum sit; sed ex hoc ipso quod est ita bene ordinatus, debemus percipere quod est factus ab aliquo. Et hoc specialiter ostendit ordo corporum caelestium. Fuerunt quidam errantes qui causas rerum attribuunt necessitati materiae; unde dicunt facta omnia propter calidum et frigidum, siccum et humidum, ut elementa quae sic convenerunt. Hoc autem si apparentiam posset habere in aliis, nullo tamen modo in caelestibus corporibus: quia non possunt attribui necessitati materiae, quod tantum distet hoc ab illo, et tanto tempore compleant cursum suum. Hoc autem nonnisi in causam intellectivam oportet reducere. Et ideo Scriptura quando vult manifestare Dei potentiam, reducit nos in considerationem caelorum. Is. 40: levate in excelsum oculos vestros, et videte quis creavit haec: ideo dicit, quoniam videbo caelos tuos, opera digitorum tuorum. Dicit autem, opera digitorum, propter tria: quia quae cum digitis facimus, attente et distincte facimus. Et quae de corporibus caelestibus consideranda sunt, non reducuntur nisi in causam intelligibilem; et ideo dicit, opera digitorum tuorum: Ps. 135: qui fecit caelos in intellectu: vel respondet ad id quod dicit, elevata. Quando quis facit elevari quod grave est, supponit humerum; sed quando facit elevari quod est leve, supponit digitum; et ideo dicit, opera digitorum, quasi leve sit ei facere caelos: Isa. 40: quis appendet tribus digitis molem terrae, et caelos palma ponderabit? Vel quae digitis facimus subtilia opera sunt. Ut ostendat ergo quod haec subtiliora sunt aliis, dicit opera digitorum et cetera. Lunam vero nominat, et non solem, propter gentiles, qui credebant eum summum Deum: et ideo ponit specialiter, lunam et stellas, in quibus non est manifesta ratio erroris: Eccl. 43: species caeli gloria stellarum, mundum illuminans in excelsis dominus. Mystice apostolos vel Scripturas opera digitorum. Tres digiti tres personae; quasi dicat, opera totius Trinitatis vel spiritus sancti. Lunam, Ecclesia: stellas, doctores. Et haec Deus fundavit.
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Quid. Supra Psalmista admiratus est divinae majestatis excellentiam; et nunc commemorat duo beneficia divinitus collata hominibus. Secundo ex hoc Psalmum terminat in laudem, ibi, domine dominus noster et cetera. Circa primum tria facit. Primo ostendit clementiam Dei ad homines, per comparationem ad ea quae sunt supra homines. Secundo per comparationem ad primum hominem, ibi, gloria et honore. Tertio per comparationem eorum quae sunt sub homine, et constituisti. Supra hominem duplex est natura: divina scilicet, et angelica. Primo ergo ponit beneficia per comparationem ad Deum. Secundo per comparationem ad Angelos, ibi, minuisti. Primo exponatur secundum quod competit quantum ad beneficia naturalia. Secundo quantum ad gratuita. Et secundum primum modum et circa eum duo facit. Primo ponit specialem curam hominis a Deo. Secundo familiaritatem specialem, aut filius hominis. Mirabile est quod quis magnus alicui parvo speciali familiaritate conjungatur: et ideo primo Psalmista commemorat parvitatem hominis ex conditione quid est homo, tam parva res? Job 14: homo natus de muliere: et 25: homo putredo, et filius hominis vermis. Secundo quantum ad originem: quia etiam vilis: Job 14: quis potest facere mundum de immundo conceptum semine? Et 10: nonne sicut lac et cetera. Et ideo dicit, aut filius hominis? Sed isti sic parvo, sic vili, dicit quod duo facit: scilicet quod memoratus est ejus, et quod visitat eum. Primum pertinet ad curam. Secundum ad familiaritatem specialem. Et est talis modus loquendi: sicut si aliquis artifex fecisset magna, et inter aliqua unum minimum, scilicet acum, et quando fecit acum ostendit se habere ejus scientiam. Sed quod in dispositione operum curaret de acu, esset valde mirabile; et ideo dicit, quid est homo, quod inter magnas creaturas recordaris ejus? Eccl. 16: ne dicas, a Deo abscondar etc. et quae est anima et cetera. Quia propter parvitatem Deus non obliviscitur tui. Sed quid magnum est hoc? Deus enim habet curam de omnibus: Sap. 12: nec est enim alius quam tu, cui cura est de omnibus. Dicendum, quod de homine habet specialem curam, scilicet quod in judicio remunerentur actus ejus: Job 14: dignum ducis super hujuscemodi aperire oculos et cetera. Item non curam solum habet de homine, sed familiaritatem habet cum eo; et hoc est quod dicit, quoniam visitas cum. Sola natura rationalis est capax Dei, cognoscendo et amando. Inquantum ergo Deus nobis praesens efficitur per amorem vel cognitionem, visitat nos: Job 10: visitatio tua custodivit et cetera. Sic ergo magna clementia Dei est in comparatione hominis ad Deum.
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Sed sequitur de homine hoc in comparatione ad Angelos, quibus homo invenitur propinquus. Minuisti. In Angelis invenitur imago Dei per simplicem intuitum veritatis, absque inquisitione; in homine vero per discursum; et ideo in homine aliquantulum. Inde est quod homines dicuntur Angeli: Malach. 2: legem requirent ex ore ejus: quia Angelus domini exercituum est. Est et homo corruptibilis, sed modicum; quia aliquando homo in patria omnia sine discursu cognoscet; et erit secundum corpus incorruptibilis: 1 Cor. 15: oportet corruptibile hoc induere incorruptionem. Consequenter ostendit clementiam Dei ad hominem, per comparationem ad ipsum hominem, cum dicit, gloria et honore et cetera. Coronari est regum. Deus fecit hominem quasi regem inferiorum et est gloria, scilicet claritas divinae imaginis: et haec est quaedam corona hominis: 1 Cor. 11: vir imago est et gloria Dei: Ps. 4: signatum est super nos lumen vultus tui domine. Sed ille honoratur, qui non subjicitur alicui. Homo enim nulli creaturae naturali corporali subjicitur, quantum ad animam, nec in ingressu nec in progressu: non in ingressu, quia a creatura non producitur, et libere agit: nec perit cum corpore; et in hoc honor hominis consistit; et ideo dicitur Sap. 2: nec judicaverunt honorem animarum sanctarum etc. usque fecit illum: Ps. 48: homo cum in honore esset non intellexit et cetera. Consequenter cum dicit, constituisti, ponit clementiam Dei ad hominem per comparationem ad ea quae sunt sub homine, quia voluit habere hominem dominium super ista inferiora: et circa hoc tria facit. Primo proponit dominium. Secundo facultatem dominandi. Tertio numerum subditorum. Secundum, ibi, omnia subjecisti. Tertium, ibi, oves et boves. Dicit ergo, ex quo homo est rex, dedisti ei dominium.
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Super opera manum tuarum: Gen. 1: ut praesit piscibus maris, et volucribus caeli, et bestiis universae terrae, et reptili quod movetur in terra. Hoc habet per rationem, quia excedit omnia animalia: et ideo statim cum dixit, gloria et honore, subdidit. Constituisti, idest dedisti dominium. Sed nota quod dicit, quod homo habet auctoritatem super opera manuum, non digitorum; quia non sunt subtilia ut caeli, qui sunt opera digitorum. Homo non potest sibi ea subjicere; et ideo secundo ostendit facultatem dominandi. Omnia, inquit, subjecisti, ut praeesset et dominaretur ad nutum. Hoc signatur Gen. 2, ubi Deus adduxit omnia animalia ad Adam. Et haec subjectio plenarie fuit ante peccatum; sed aliqua nunc resistunt in poenam peccati. Tertio cum dicit, oves et boves etc., enumerat subjecta: et ponit animalia ut etiam plantae intelligantur. In animalibus autem quaedam subjiciuntur secundum totum genus suum, scilicet animalia mansueta et domestica secundum suam naturam, scilicet oves et boves: et hoc in feminino dicit, universas, quia armenta fiunt praecipue de vaccis et ovibus.
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Alia sunt quae non subjiciuntur secundum totum genus: et horum quaedam sunt gressibilia: et quantum ad hoc dicit, insuper et pecora campi etc.: scilicet apri, cervi, et hujusmodi: quaedam volatilia, scilicet aves: et quaedam natatilia sicut pisces. Possunt et haec ad beneficia gratiae referri: et tunc in his omnia mysteria Christi numerantur. Primo incarnationis, quid est homo? Duo tangit: scilicet causam incarnationis, et ipsam incarnationem: et dicit, quid est homo? Videbatur enim Deus oblitus hominis, quando expulit eum de Paradiso: hujusmodi recordatur quando reducitur ad illud Psalm. 105: memento nostri domine. Et sic sequitur incarnatio: quia visitat: et ideo dicit, aut filius hominis et cetera. Quia licet totum genus humanum visitaverit, specialiter tamen illum hominem assumptum in unitate hypostasis: Hebr. 1: nunquam Angelos apprehendit, sed semen Abrahae. Secundum est passionis. Minuisti propter passionem. Heb. 2: eum autem qui modico quam Angeli minoratus est et cetera. In Hebraeo habetur, et minues eum parum a Deo: quia conjunctus est Deo in unitate personae; sed minutus propter passibilitatem assumptam. Tertium est beneficium resurrectionis in honore exhibito apostolis, quae numerat per passionem; Phil. 1: in nomine Jesu omne genuflectatur et cetera. Joan. 5: ut omnes honorificent filium, sicut honorificant patrem. Quartum mysterium est ascensionis: constituisti eum super et cetera. Eph. 1: constituens eum ad dexteram suam, supra omnem principatum et potestatem et cetera. Quintum mysterium est adventus ad judicium, omnia subjecisti etc. idest constituisti eum judicem super omnia: Hebr. 2: nunc autem necdum videmus omnia subjecta ei: tunc omnia subjicientur sub pedibus ejus, idest humanitate ejus, quia caput Christi Deus, 2 Cor. 11. Et sunt pedes humanitas: Joan. 5: potestatem dedit ei judicium facere. Et hi in judicio quidam boni: et horum quidam subditi sunt signati per oves: 2 Reg. ult.: isti qui sunt oves quid fecerunt? Quidam praelati, et hi signati sunt per boves: Prov. 14: ubi plurimae segetes, ibi manifesta fortitudo bovis. Quidam mali: et horum sunt tria genera: Joan. 2: omne quod est in mundo, aut est concupiscentia oculorum, aut concupiscentia carnis, aut superbia vitae. Et primo ponit luxuriosos: et hi sunt oves et boves et pecora campi, quia bestialibus delectantur: Joel. 1: putruerunt jumenta in stercore suo, et demoliti sunt horrea campi. Dicit hoc, quia vadunt per amplam viam, Matth. 7. Secundo superbos, volucres: Matth. 14: aves caeli comederunt illud: Deut. 32: devorabunt eos aves morsu amarissimo.
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Tertio cupidos, qui perambulant semitas maris, ad litteram; vel mundi: Ps. 11: in circuitu impii ambulant: Job 1: circuivi terram, et perambulavi eam. Sicut Deus est mirabilis eminentia majestatis, ita ostenditur ex clementia; et ideo concludit admirationem, domine dominus noster et cetera. Tamen sciendum est, quod iste Psalmus est circularis, quia eundem versum habet in principio et in fine. Quidam sunt semicirculares, quia non repetunt totum versum, sed partem; sicut benedic anima mea domino, finis, in omni loco dominationis ejus.
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noster, quam admirabile | est nomen tuum in universa terra 1 emenda ut syr, targ : quia dedisti laudem tuam (splendorem tuum) super coelos; Sym ὃς ἔταξας τὸν ἔπαινόν cov. Rem ita declarat Ag. 6 hanc magnificentiam in coelo elevatam, decorem illum corporum coelestium ac splendorem intelligit, quo tamquam pulcherrimo magnificentissimoque vestimento, auro gemmuisque distincto, coelum exornatur; ... cum coeli omnem terram ambiant, nulla terrae pars est, ubi haec sublimis Dei gloria non sit conspicua ; quod ipsum alibi dixat : in omnem terram exivit sonus eorum ». Quae gloria adeo conspicua est, ut ipsi parvuli eam agnoscant
8:3
v. 3 ex ore infantium et lactentium perfecisti laudem, simihter praebet syr : acquires laudem tuam. Idque propter inimicos tuos, ut scil. illorum confessione et laude perfidiam inimicorum tuorum arguas atque convincas (Ag.) ; locutio similis est e1 quam legimus Sap. 10, 21 sapientia linguas infantium fecit disertas. Ista parvulorum, laus, cui laus et agnitio adultorum a parte potiore adiungitur, in id tendit, ut destruas, hebr cessare facias, inimicum et ultorem, ut cesset 1dololatria, ut omnes ad. Dei cognitionem adducantur. Vertit Hier : ut quiescat inimicus et ultor ; quiescent autem, 51 Deum agnoverint ; unde laus Dei ab Israelitis praedicata gentium erit institutio. Textus hebr fert : fundasti potentiam ; ita quoque Aq ἐθεμελίωσας χράτος, Sym συνε- στήσω χράτος, al. ἰσχύν. In qua acceptione sensus non valde planus est ; explicant : firmasti, stabilem declarasti potentiam tuam, dum ex ore infantium gloriam tuam exprimis. Satius erit hebr τῷ ea notione accipere, qua 29, 1 et 96, 7 LXX vertitur τιμή, 08, 35 δόξα et Ex. 15, 2, Is. 12, 2 potius ad similem notionem laudis accedit vel saltem — Coeli immensitas, splendor, pulchritudo praecipue cernitur noctu in firmamento innumeris stellis vario fulgore lucentibus multoque magis oculi perstringuntur et ambitu 60611 et sublimitate 66 varietate orna- M mentorum, quam interdiu, quando unius solis splendore cuncta in unam lucem formantur. Quare psalmista noctu cum admiratione coelum stelliferum contemplatur et tanta mole amplissima et tot astris fulgentibus conspectis vivide sentit, quam exiguus sit homo. Ita enim magnificentiam Dei praedicat et laudi aliorum (v. 2. 3) suam adiungit -
8:4
v. 4 quoniam videbo coelos tuos, opera digitorum tuorum, opus digitorum videtur innuere facilitatem et fere levem lusum 1n 6111016008 mole illa immensa coelorum ; (unam et stellas ; « et cum his tam pulchris, tam firmis, tam conspicuis corporibus collatus homo, quidnam est ? nonne si corporum excellentiam spectes, homo fere nihil esse videtur »
8:5
quod memor es eius ; miratur psalmista, quod Deus tanta maiestate coeli stelliferi quasi postposita ac neglecta, creaturam hominis exiguam respiciat ; hebr אנוש eum aliqua fragilitatis nota — auf filius lorum amplitudine) in aliquo numero habes (cf. Ag.). Et tamen cum tanta exiguitate ex una parte quanta coniuncta cernitur dignitas hominis. Quae sequuntur ad amplificationem dignitatis humanae dicuntur (Ag.)
8:6
v. 6 minuisti eum paulo minus ab angelis, a Deo (hebr, Hier) LXX παρ᾽ ἀγγέλους, probabiliter ad. vitandam olfensionem quandam ; sed reliqui interpretes (Aq Sym Theod syr hexapl quid quasi desit ei, ne sit Elohim, declaratur : gloria et honore, maiestate, coronasti eum, homo enim ad Dei imaginem factus est ; ea iam ratione longissime dignitate superat coelum stelliferum et prope accedit ad Deum ; haec autem imago relucet in. hominis gloria .et maiestate, qua a Deo rerum conditore constitutus est dominator rerum : v. ד constituisti eum super opera manuum tuarum ; alluditur ad Gen. 1, 26. 28: replete terram et subicite eam et dominamim piscibus maris et volatilibus coeli et universis animantibus quae moventur super terram ; in [186 dominatione hominis universa, adeo ampla, Deus quasi totum suum dominium, gloriam suam, homini tribuit, unde merito dieitur : minuis eum paulo minus a Deo. Haec riam in homine relucentem poeta longiore enumeratione ad verba Gen. 1, 28 facta recenset et describit : omnia subiecisti sub pedibus eius, oves et boves etc. volucres coeli e( pisces maris etc. Et hanc gloeximiam divinae celsitudinis admirationem, docet et exprimit psalmista repetens
8:10
v. 10 Domine Dominus noster dominator noster (Hier), quam admirabile est nomen tuum in universa terra ! voluit, ipsis verbis et allusione ad Gen. 1, 26. 28 efficitur. Uti haee gloria propria erat Adamo, ita quam maxime propria esse debet Adamo alteri parenti generis humani ; quare facile constat applicatio verborum in epistola ad Hebr. 2, 6 seq.
8:6
6. Man's superiority over the animals in the Old Testament is not derived from the possession of a spiritual and immortal soul, but is expressed through the idea of likeness to God (Gen. 1:26; 5:1-3; 9:6; Ps. 8:6 ff.; Eccli. 17:3; Wis. 2:23). Nevertheless, since this likeness consists in man's being endowed with intelligence and free will, implicitly resembling God coincides with having a spiritual …
8:7
… the creatures made by you... » (Wis. 9, 1-2). « You have placed (man) at the head of the works of your hands; you have put all things under his feet: sheep and oxen, and the beasts of the field as well, the birds of the sky and the fish of the sea » (Ps. 8, 7-9). Science, for its part, discovers every day very numerous services that animals can render or do render instinctively to humanity, and, joined to industry, provides man in his innumerable needs.
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.