Psalm 12 [MT 13]

"For Christ is the end of the law to every one that believes." [Romans 10:4] "How long, O Lord, will You forget me unto the end?" [Psalm 13:1] that is, put me off as to spiritually understanding Christ, who is the Wisdom of God, and the true end of all the aim of the soul. "How long will You turn away Your face from me?" As God does not forget, so neither does He turn His face away: but Scripture speaks after our manner. Now God is said to turn away His face, when He does not give to the soul, which as yet has not the pure eye of the mind, the knowledge of Himself.

He asks for the appearance of Christ whom he already foresaw. For his face is what was capable of being seen with the eyes of the body, which that holy man with this general longing rightly desired to look upon. Such a face deemed it right to save the world by his heavenly appearance.

The psalm's theme, in fact, is clear: it is uttered on the part of David himself when he suffered the effects of the sin with Bathsheba. On falling foul of every harsh, grievous and painful incident on that account, remember, he then identified the sin as the cause, especially on hearing that "the Lord has taken away your sin." You see, while he received the gift as coming from a loving Lord, he thought it behooved him not to forget the sin but instead to advance in virtue with the degree of determination he required to be preserved from committing such a sin against so good a lord. But on being caught up in the events involving Absalom in particular, he believed the outcome was God's abandoning him and realized the sin was most of all to blame. He therefore asks God to be completely reconciled to him and not forsake him but to lift the weight of misfortune that was proving too heavy for the strength of the sufferer.

The forgetfulness of God [would be] a very serious thing, even temporarily. It would mean death, the loss of immortality.

Whence comes his knowledge that God had forgotten him, does the text say? Since he knew also when he remembered him, and he was wise enough to know what forgetting meant and what remembering. Not like the majority of people, who, when they are wealthy, when they enjoy a good reputation with people, when everything goes favorably for them, when they better their foes, then think God remembers them. Hence neither do they understand when it is God forgets them. They do not recognize the sign of God's remembering, you see, nor do they grasp the sign of his forgetting.… Nothing, after all, brings remembrance by God so much as doing good, being sober and watchful, practicing virtue; likewise, nothing prompts forgetting so much as living in sin and giving oneself to greed and rapacity. So for your part, dearly beloved, when you are in trouble, do not say, "God has forgotten me," but when you are living in sin and everything is going favorably for you. After all, if you knew this, you would quickly abandon evil things.

Whosoever feareth sleepeth not, and if he sleepeth, he seeth in his dream the cause of his fear; he eateth not, and he drinketh not, and if the force of natural craving compel him, fear is mingled with his meat and drink. Everything which attacketh the man who is filled with the fear of God abideth outside him, for fear keepeth fast hold upon the place of his understanding, and upon all the places of ingoing and outgoing of the city of his soul. Like the watchmen who stand by the gates of the city, even so doth fear keep fast hold upon the places of ingoing and outgoing of the soul, and it permitteth no act or thought to enter in or to go forth which it examineth not; for it neither permitteth any internal thought whatsoever to go forth, nor any external act that is not seemly to go in. And moreover this Prophet maketh known in other places the fear of God; "My flesh contracteth through fear of Thee, and I am afraid of Thy judgments." And again he saith, "I am like a wine skin in ice, but I have not forgotten Thy commandments." And again he saith, "Sorrow is in my heart all the day long. How long, O Lord, wilt thou turn Thy face from me? How long wilt Thou forget me, for ever? How long wilt Thou set trouble in my soul?" And again he saith, "Heal me, O Lord, for my bones tremble, and my soul is greatly moved. I am weary with my groaning; every night make I my bed to swim; and I water my couch with my tears. Mine eye hath become sick because of Thine anger"; now it is evident that all these things arose from [his] fear of God.

In the preceding Psalm the Psalmist set forth the stratagems of his adversaries; here he asks a remedy against them from God. The title: "unto the end, a Psalm of David." This has been explained above. This Psalm is divided into three parts. In the first, a complaint is set forth; in the second, a petition, at "look upon me and hear me"; in the third, the hearing of the prayer, at "but I have trusted in your mercy." The complaint contains three things. He marvels at God's seeming indifference; he confesses his own weakness; and he complains about the power of his adversaries. The second, at "how long"; the third, at "how long shall my enemy be exalted." One who overlooks injuries done to someone does so either because he does not remember him, or because he does not wish to provide a remedy. And so he says: Lord, I am burdened by adversaries, and you do not provide a remedy? "How long will you forget me unto the end?" -- that is, it seems as though you wish finally to shun me. Is. 49: "Zion said, the Lord has forsaken me, and the Lord has forgotten me." Hab. 1: "Why do you not look upon those who act unjustly, and are silent when the wicked devours one more just than himself?" "How long do you turn your face from me?" One turns one's face when one does not provide a remedy. Ps. 43: "Why do you turn away your face? Do you forget our need and our tribulation?" This accords with the history of David, who was long persecuted by Saul. Allegorically, it is said of the fathers of the Old Testament, who continually awaited Christ, and God, as though forgetful of them, delayed in providing a remedy; and they say, "how long, O Lord," etc. "How long do you turn your face from me?" -- that is, the presence of your Son from us. Or, let it be the complaint of modern just persons about the delay of the second coming: "How long, O Lord, will you forget me? Will this be until the end," that is, on the day of judgment, or until death? "And how long do you turn your face from me?" -- that is, the face of your glory, so that I may see you face to face. Ex. 33: "Show me your face." Ps. 79: "Show your face, and we shall be saved." Yet many reasons can also be assigned for why the ancient fathers so greatly desired the coming of Christ in the flesh. The first, on account of the exaltation of human nature, in whose person it is said in Lam. 1: "Look, O Lord, for I have become vile." But it was exalted through the incarnation. Ps. 72: "With glory you have received me," that is, I have been made glorious, as a lowborn woman is elevated if she contracts marriage with a nobleman. Hence it is that every sin after the coming of the Savior is graver than it was before -- just as if a noble woman or man were to commit some shameful act, it would be more disgraceful than if a peasant did so. The second reason is so that the captives might be freed from the prison of Hell or Limbo. Job 17: "Into the deepest Hell shall my bones descend; do you think that at least there shall be rest for me there?" As if to say: no; but through Christ we have been freed from it. Zech. 9: "You also, by the blood of your covenant, have sent forth the prisoner out of the pit in which there was no water." Third, on account of the casting down of the Devil. Ps. 88: "You have humbled the proud one as one who is wounded," that is, you have diminished his power. Fourth, because through the coming of Christ, God has been reconciled to us. Eph. 2: "The cornerstone who makes both one." Fifth, on account of the delight they hoped to have with Christ, by seeing, hearing, and conversing with Him. Mt. 13: "Blessed are the eyes that see what you see," etc. But the moderns desire the second coming. First, because then we shall be exalted. Wis. 3: "The saints shall judge nations and shall rule over peoples." And again, Wis. 5: "They are counted among the children of God." Second, because we shall be freed from every punishment. Is. 25: "The Lord shall wipe away every tear from every face," that is, the cause of weeping, or punishment. Third, because we shall be freed from every sin. Is. 25: "The Lord shall take away the reproach of His people from the whole earth." Fourth, because then we shall be snatched from the power of the Devil. Is. 11: "They shall not hurt nor kill in all my holy mountain." Fifth, because we shall be freed from the servitude of the body. Ps. 141: "Bring my soul out of prison." Rom. 8: "The creature itself shall be delivered from the bondage of corruption." Sixth, because we shall see God face to face. 1 Jn. 3: "We know that when He shall appear, we shall be like Him, because we shall see Him as He is." Jer. 31: "All shall know me, from the least even to the greatest." Or it can be the complaint of any just person oppressed by adversity or by the corruption of sin and concupiscence.

"How long shall I place counsel in my soul?" [Psalm 13:2]. There is no need of counsel but in adversity. Therefore "How long shall I place counsel in my soul?" is as if it were said, How long shall I be in adversity? Or at least it is an answer, so that the meaning is this, So long, O Lord, will You forget me to the end, and so long turn away Your face from me, until I shall place counsel in my own soul: so that except a man place counsel in his own soul to work mercy perfectly, God will not direct him to the end, nor give him that full knowledge of Himself, which is "face to face." "Sorrow in my heart through the day?" How long shall I have, is understood. And "through the day" signifies continuance, so that day is taken for time: from which as each one longs to be free, he has sorrow in his heart, making entreaty to rise to things eternal, and not endure man's day.

Just as the sailor on leaving port wanders in every direction and the person deprived of light bumps into many things, so too the one who encounters God's forgetting is caught up constantly in worries and cares and sorrows.

At first this one makes many plans in his soul, but in the end [see v. 5], he rests in the great plan of God for everyone, whose spirit is in the root of Jesse.

Here he confesses his own weakness, and concerning this he does two things. First he sets forth the anxiety of the heart. Second, the resulting sorrow, at "sorrow in my heart by day." As to the first, the Philosopher says in the Rhetoric that fear makes men inclined to take counsel. The same is found in Is. 16: "Enter into counsel, call a council." Thus a man in adversity and temptation sometimes deliberates how to resist; and so he says, "How long shall I take counsel in my soul?" -- that is, how long must I have new plans for resisting enemies? Thus the fathers of the Old Testament had various counsels to prefigure Christ. Now when a man in his deliberation takes one path and yet fails in it, sorrow follows; and so it is said: "How long, O Lord, shall I take counsel in my heart?" -- that is, daily, since I continually fail. Jer. 8: "Sorrow upon sorrow; within me, my heart grieves."

Here he complains of the prosperity of his enemy, who "shall be exalted," namely Saul over David, and the enemy who leads into consent to sin, and the flesh, since they have their concupiscences. Hab. 1: "Therefore judgment does not come to the end, because the wicked prevails against the just."

"Look on me, and hear me, O Lord my God" [Psalm 13:3]. "Look on me," refers to what was said, "How long" dost "Thou turn away Your face from me." "Hear," refers to what was said, "How long will You forget me to the end? Lighten my eyes, that I sleep not in death." The eyes of the heart must be understood, that they be not closed by the pleasurable eclipse of sin.

The eyes of the heart … sleep in death when they are closed by the pleasure of the flesh and the light of faith is buried. This is the sort of sleep in which the enemy rejoices.

The right sight of the eyes hidden within is to be able to see plainly and subtly, insofar as is allowed, whatever considerations there may be concerning the words of God. "For we see through a mirror in an obscure manner and we know in part," but "he who discloses the recesses of the darkness" sends the light of truth to those who wish to gain a knowledge concerning him rightly. It is necessary therefore that we prostrate ourselves before God saying, "Give light to my eyes that I may not sleep in death," for to slip away from the rightness of holy doctrines would be nothing else except to sleep in death, and we depart from this rightness when we do not follow the divinely inspired Scriptures.

Since the misfortunes and the tribulations render the sun, which is a source of pleasure to everyone, dim and faint to me, he is saying, free me from the misfortune so that I may see good things as they naturally are and not as the tribulations represent them.

The face of God, full of light, is a certain power looking to confer gifts, by which each partaker will be enlightened, as if they were enjoying the rays of the sun. But if one has turned away, his spirit lives in the shadows without light; because the eyes within, namely, the thoughts of the mind, can see nothing. When one persists in sin, more and more shadows come, because deep within him the face of God remains turned away.

If you are blind and unenlightened, lighten your eyes that you sleep not in death. In God's Light see light, and in the Spirit of God be enlightened by the Son, that threefold and undivided Light.

Just as when God defends us and stands by us, everything damaging is removed from us, so when he keeps his distance and forgets us, our soul is cut in two, our heart plunged in sorrow, those who do harm fall on us and life becomes craggy and precipitous. Now, this is allowed to happen for our advantage, so that through the whole of it those more indifferent people may be goaded into becoming more zealous and return to the condition from which they fell. "Your falling away will instruct you, after all," Scripture says, "and your wickedness censure you." And so even abandonment by God is a form of providence. You see, when the one who exercises providence and care is slighted, he ignores and abandons us to some extent so that at that point indifference may be expelled and the negligent may turn more zealous.

Is God a light to enlighten the eyes of the body or the eyes of the intellect? The prophet says of the latter, "Enlighten my eyes lest I sleep in death." I think it is clear to everyone that we would not say that God performs the work of the sun and assigns to another the task of enlightening the eyes of those who will not sleep in death. God, therefore, enlightens the mind of those whom he judges to be worthy of personal enlightenment. But if God illuminates the mind according to the statement "The Lord is my light," then we must assume that he is apprehended by the intellect and is invisible and incorporeal, because he is the light of the mind.

By night I am overwhelmed by my problems, in the grip of discouragement like a kind of sleep. But if the light of your assistance shines, it will disperse the darkness of trouble and put an end to the sleep of discouragement. If, however, you delay your help, I am afraid the sleep will turn into death, as the distress becomes stronger than my resolve.

The second part of this Psalm sets forth the prayer or petition. And first the petition is set forth corresponding to God's seeming indifference. Second, to his own weakness, at "enlighten my eyes," etc. Third, to the prosperity of his enemies, at "lest my enemy say," etc. First he speaks of God's seeming indifference through forgetfulness and turning away. As if to say: "look upon me," that is, turn toward me, you who turn away when you have forgotten. "Now hear me." Is. 64: "Look upon us; we are all your people." Second, the petition corresponding to his own weakness is set forth. One petition arises from the many counsels, and another from his sorrows. And so, because I do not have counsels from myself, "enlighten my eyes, lest I sleep in death," that is, teach me. Likewise, Lk. 1: "To enlighten those who sit in darkness," etc. This fits literally with David fleeing from the face of Saul, whom he often had to take care to avoid, lest at some point he fall into his hands and be killed. Similarly, as long as a man is careful to resist sin, he does not fall into death; but when he sleeps, he is slain. Thus, 2 Sam.: when Ishbosheth was sleeping and the maidservant was cleaning wheat, he was killed. Eph. 5: "Rise, you who sleep."

"Lest at any time mine enemy say, I have prevailed against him" [Psalm 13:4]. The devil's mockery is to be feared. "They that trouble me will exult, if I be moved;" the devil and his angels; who exulted not over that righteous man, Job, when they troubled him; because he was not moved, that is, did not draw back from the steadfastness of his faith. [Job 2:3]

If someone withdraws himself by a single mental step from the Lord's strength, then he inevitably steps into the devil's trap.

As we sin, the adversary becomes haughty and domineering over us, and we are pressed down by our sin; this is really the nature of sin, to cast down and to oppress the spirit.

What is the meaning of "I have prevailed over him"? That even if he is not absolutely strong, yet he has proved strong against me. Our defeat clothes him in strength, makes him look strong, powerful and invincible. Do you see that when we sin, not only do we shame and destroy ourselves and fall headlong into death, but also we declare to be strong and powerful the foes by whom we are defeated. And not only this: we also bring them to a state of joy and exultation. Bless me! What stupidity! What madness! To be of assistance ourselves to our enemies and make their soul rejoice and exult through the pain and distress they cause us! See how absurd it is. Whereas we should conquer the enemy ("His swords have finally failed," remember, "and the godless has been destroyed"), whereas we should conquer, we are beaten; and not only this, but we make him appear powerful and strong. Nor does the extent of our madness and extreme derangement stop at this point: We prove the cause of bringing him to a state of joy and exultation. Sin in reality is the height of madness and extreme evil.… Let us … give thought and expend effort lest we puff the enemy up, lest we show him to be strong, lest we give him joy; instead, let us do the opposite, make him humble, lowly, weak, dejected, gloomy. You see, if he were to see sinners reforming, all these things would happen together.

The petition against the adversary: "lest my enemy say." And he sets forth two things. First, the petition. Second, its reason, at "those who trouble me." "Enlighten me, lest my enemy say," exultantly: "I have prevailed against him." And the Devil exults when he tempts and draws one into sin. Likewise: "Arise, O Lord, let not man prevail." And the nature of this is that they would rejoice, "because they will exult if I am moved," that is, if I abandon the state of justice and fall into sin. Sir. 18: "Go not after the lusts of your heart, and turn away from your own will. If you grant to your soul her concupiscences, she will make you the joy of your enemies." Dan. 9: "For your own sake, O God, incline your ear and hear; open your eyes and see our desolation, and the city upon which your name is invoked."

"But I have hoped in Your mercy" [Psalm 13:5]. Because this very thing, that a man be not moved, and that he abide fixed in the Lord, he should not attribute to self: lest when he glories that he has not been moved, he be moved by this very pride.

The love of God is a spring shower of virtues under which a blessed desire begins to bud and holy action bears fruit. This love is patient under adversities in this life, temperate in prosperity, powerful in its humility, joyful in affliction, benevolent toward enemies, and overcomes the wicked by its goodness. From this source, even heavenly creatures are constantly ignited by God's love as a restoring flame, a growing desire for salvation. To summarize all of this with a phrase from the Apostle: "God himself is love."

Do you see a hope-filled soul? He asked, and before receiving he gives thanks as though having received, sings praise to God and achieves all that had been anticipated.

In this I trust, that I shall receive forgiveness of my sin, in that I hope in your mercy through which you have worked salvation for all people.

It is clear also from this that he uttered this psalm after the sin: he relies not on his righteousness but on mercy and says it is in this that he trusts.

Here the hearing of his prayer is signified, and concerning this he does three things. First he sets forth the hope of being heard. Second, the joy over being heard, at "and my heart shall rejoice." Third, he gives thanks, at "I will sing." He says therefore, "in your mercy I have hoped," not in the world. Lam. 3: "The mercies of the Lord are many, because we are not consumed." Not in my own power, because it is nothing against the Devil. Job 41: "There is no power on earth that can be compared to him." And he sets forth here three things by which a man is helped against the Devil: namely, through spiritual joy, through devout prayer, and through good works. On account of the first he says, "My heart shall rejoice in your salvation," not in temporal things or vanities, as sinners do, of whom Job 21 says: "They rejoice at the sound of the organ, and spend their days in prosperity, and in a moment they go down to Hell." Hos. 9: "Do not rejoice, O Israel; do not exult like the peoples." But "in your salvation," that is, in Christ, who came for this purpose, to save us. Mt. 1: "For He shall save," etc. And this joy arms a man against the Devil. Prov. 17: "A joyful mind makes for a flourishing age; a sorrowful spirit dries up the bones."