Psalm 40 [MT 41]

Faith comes first, and mercy comes second.… Happy, therefore, is the one who understands the poverty of Christ, his utter destitution. Christ, though he was very rich, became poor for us. In his kingdom, he was rich; in his flesh, he was poor, for he took on himself the flesh of the poor. We had indeed become very poor, because, by fraud practiced on us by the serpent, we lost the rich robes of virtue and were put out of paradise. We were thrown out of our native land and banished into exile. We were even stripped of clothing. Our lovely vesture of virtue that once covered our body was snatched from us by sin.… Have understanding as regards the poverty of Christ, so that you may be rich; understand his weakness and suffering, so that you may become strong and whole; understand his cross, so that you will never blush for it; understand his wound, so that your wounds may be cured; understand his death, so that you may gain eternal life; understand his tomb, so that you may discover the resurrection.

The day of judgment is bitter, and we dread it. There is no one to whom it does not appear evil, because it is fraught with terror. It is the day on which the Lord will judge not only what we did in public but even our most secret actions. On that day each of us will have to show clearly what we have done and what we have thought. Therefore many will be condemned, and few will win the crown.

"Blessed is he that understandeth upon the needy and poor One: in the evil day shall the Lord deliver him" [Psalm 41:1]. For the evil day will come: will thou, hill thou, come it will: the Day of Judgment will come upon thee, an evil day if thou "understand not the needy and poor." For what now thou wilt not believe, shall be made manifest in the end. But neither shalt thou escape, when it shall be made manifest, because thou believest not, when it is kept secret. Invited art thou, what thou seest not to believe, lest when thou see, thou be put to the blush. "Understand then upon the needy and poor One," that is, Christ: understand in Him the hidden riches, whom poor thou seest. "In Him are hid all the treasures of wisdom and knowledge." For thereby in the evil day shall He deliver thee, in that He is God: but in that He is man, and that which in Him is human hath raised to life, and changed for the better, He hath lifted (thee) to heaven. But He who is God, who would have one person in man and with man, could neither decrease nor increase, neither die nor rise again. He died out of man's infirmity, but God dieth not. ...But as we rightly say, Such a man died, though his soul dieth not; so we rightly say, Christ died, though His Divinity dieth not. Wherefore died? Because needy and poor. Let not His death offend thee, and avert thee from beholding His Divinity. "Blessed is he that understandeth upon the needy and poor One." Consider also the poor, the needy, the hungry and thirsty, the naked, the sick, the prisoners; understand also upon such poor, for if upon such thou understand, thou understandest upon Him who said, "I was an hungred, I was thirsty, I was a stranger, naked, sick, in prison;" so in the evil day shall the Lord deliver thee. ...

[One] will not be able to merit the mercy of God who himself has not been merciful, nor will [one] gain any request from the divine love by his prayers who has not been humane toward the prayer of the poor.

By "evil day" he refers not to it as naturally evil—a day not being evil by nature, since if it were, the day would transfer the responsibility to its creator. Instead, by "evil day" he refers to the one on which a person is enveloped in distress, affliction and pain or falls victim to illness or some other hazard. So he means, when such a day comes, God, who lends help, is not asleep.

The Word defines blessedness for us in another way than at the beginning. For in the first psalms, to depart from evil was blessed, but here to know the good more fully is pronounced blessed. Now the nature of the good … is the "only-begotten God," "who, though he was rich, for our sake became poor." The Word here predicts his "poverty" in the flesh, which is pointed out to us through the Gospel account, pronouncing the one who has recognized that "poverty" with understanding blessed. He was "poor" in relation to the "form of a servant" but blessed in relation to the nature of deity. For in the opening words of the psalm the Word calls him "needy and poor"; at the end of the section he says, "Blessed be the Lord God of Israel from eternity to eternity. So be it. So be it."

You should "recognize" Christ "in the needy" to the extent that your resources "allow." Christ our Lord gives testimony to the fact that he is the one whom we clothe, support and feed in them. That is how strongly he has recommended the poor to us.

Though having lordship of visible and invisible things, he had nowhere to lay his head, was born of a virgin and through lack of bed was laid in a manger. Consequently, the inspired Word declares blessed the one able to understand this poverty and filled with zeal to sing the praises as far as possible of the one who accepted it.

In the preceding Psalm, the Psalmist showed his confidence with respect to God; here, however, he asks from God a mercy that strengthens. The title is: "Unto the end, a Psalm of David." This title has already been explained above, namely that this Psalm which David composed leads us to the end, that is, to Christ, because it treats of his Passion with respect to certain things. It is said, however, in the Gloss that according to Jerome in his original text the title is: "Understanding, for the sons of Korah"; and this is a new title among the titles of the Psalms. It should therefore be known that, as is read in Num. 16, when Dathan and Abiram made a schism against Moses for the leadership of the people, then Korah rose up against Aaron for the leadership of the priesthood, and he was burned. Not all of his family, however, consented to this, and therefore those who did not consent from among them survived; hence in the time of David, ministries were given to them among the singers. And it is understood that this Psalm was in those days ordained to be sung. But it should be noted that in those Psalms where "understanding for the sons of Korah" is said, and is said according to the letter in all those in which "understanding" is placed, it is given to understand that through that Psalm the people are incited to understand the divine benefits or certain secrets, such as that verse, Ps. 94: "Understand, you senseless ones." And there, Ps. 78: "Attend, O my people," etc. Mystically, Korah is interpreted as Calvary, and Christ was crucified at the place of Calvary; and therefore this Psalm is attributed to the sons of the Passion, that is, of the cross of Christ. And these are they who have crucified their flesh, as is said in Gal. 5. The intention of the Psalmist is that he asks for divine mercy. This Psalm is therefore divided into two parts. In the first he asks for divine mercy in general; in the second in particular, at "But you, O Lord." Concerning the first he does two things. First he asks for mercy; second he introduces the necessity of asking for mercy, at "My enemies." Concerning the first he does two things. First he shows to whom mercy is owed; second, perceiving in himself that he deserves mercy, he asks for it, at "I said," because Mt. 5: "Blessed are the merciful, for they shall obtain mercy." Therefore mercy is owed to the merciful for a twofold reason. First, from divine acceptance, because God accepts mercy, through which man becomes an imitator of God. Lk. 6: "Be merciful," etc. Second, from the prayer of the saints. Sir. 29: "Store up almsgiving in the heart of the poor, and it shall pray for you." And this he does at "The Lord preserve him." Concerning the first, he announces the merit; second, the reward. He says therefore, "Blessed is he who understands concerning the needy and the poor." Blessed is the one who is merciful, who has mercy on the needy and the poor. Prov. 14: "He who has mercy on the poor shall be blessed." And he says, "who understands"—he does not say "who helps," because, as has been said, one ought to be merciful after the manner of God; but God does not wait to be always asked. Hence he comes to the aid of a desire before being asked; and therefore he is truly merciful who not only helps those who ask, but also helps the one in need before being asked. Job 31: "If I denied what the poor desired, if I made the eyes of the widow wait." The needy is one who needs to receive from another; the poor is one who has little. Jerome has, "who considers," etc., that is, who takes upon himself the care of the affairs of the poor. Job 29: "I was an eye to the blind, and a foot to the lame." Mystically, if this is referred to Christ, blessed is the Christian if he is a son of Korah, that is, of the cross of Christ through meditation, who understands, that is, who has his understanding brought into service, understanding concerning the needy and the poor, that is, the benefit which Christ accomplished through the cross. Lam. 3: "Remember my poverty and my transgression, the wormwood and the gall." He sets forth the first when he says, "In the evil day the Lord will deliver him." Days according to their nature are good, because they are made by God. Ps. 119: "By your ordinance the days continue." But they are called evil on account of the evils that happen in them. Eph. 5: "Redeeming the time, because the days are evil." And he says, "In the evil day," that is, in a day of some evil tribulation. Now there are many kinds of evil days: namely, of trial. Sir. 11: "In the day of good things, be not unmindful of evils." The greatest of evils is eternal damnation, which threatens man at the judgment, either particular, namely death, or at the universal judgment, that is, at the end of the world. And that day is evil on which such damnation takes place, that is, "that day is a day of wrath, a day of tribulation and anguish," etc. On this evil day the Lord delivers the merciful. Mt. 25: "I was hungry," etc. "Come, blessed," etc. Not that mercy alone without other virtues delivers a man, but because through mercy a man makes satisfaction for his sins.

Clearly, as often as we succor the wretched, we give to ourselves. The dispensing of our resources is our gain. For if you consider again the hope of future reward, whatever is given to the poor is reckoned as a profit. That is what the prophet states: "Blessed is he who understands concerning the needy and the poor: the Lord will deliver him in the evil day."

"And deliver him not into the hand of his enemy." The enemy is the devil. Let none think of a man his enemy, when he hears these words. Haply one thought of his neighbour, of him who had a suit with him in court, of him who would take from him his own possession, of him who would force him to sell to him his house. Think not this; but that enemy think of, of whom said the Lord, "an enemy hath done this." For He it is who suggests that for things earthly he be worshipped, for overthrow the Christian Name this enemy cannot. For he hath seen himself conquered by the fame and praises of Christ, he hath seen, whereas he slew Christ's Martyrs, that they are crowned, he triumphed over. He hath begun to be unable to persuade men that Christ is nought; and because by reviling Christ, he now with difficulty deceives, by lauding Christ, he endeavours to deceive. Before this what said he? Whom worship ye? A Jew, dead, crucified, a man of no moment, who could not even from himself drive away death. When after His Name he saw running the whole human race, saw that in the Name of the Crucified temples are thrown down, idols are broken, sacrifices abolished; and that all these things predicted in the Prophets are considered by men, by men with wonder astonished, and closing now their hearts against the reviling of Christ; he clothes himself with praise of Christ, and begins to deter from the faith in another manner. Great is the law of Christ, powerful is that law, divine, ineffable! but who fulfilleth it? In the name of our Saviour, "tread upon the lion and the dragon." By reviling openly roared the lion; by lauding craftily lurks the dragon. Let them come to the faith, who doubted; and not say, Who fulfilleth it? If on their own strength they presume, they will not fulfil it. Presuming on the grace of God let them believe, presuming (on it) let them come; to be aided come, not to be judged. So live all the faithful in the Name of Christ, each one in his degree fulfilling the commands of Christ, whether married, or celibates and virgins, they live as much as God granteth them to live; neither presume they in their own strength, but know that in Him they ought to glory...

He comments on God's favors to him in different ways: he will give freedom from perils, he says, will closely guard him so that he will suffer nothing, provide him with life and make him appear as blessed by the vast number of favors in the sight of everyone.

"The Lord preserve him." Here he shows how one merits mercy from the prayer of the saints, who pray for the merciful. And a prayer is set forth for the merciful person in a state of prosperity; second, for one in a state of adversity. In a state of prosperity a man needs two things: namely, to be advanced and preserved in good; second, to be freed from evils. Now there is a threefold good: namely, the good of nature, the good of grace, and the good of glory. The first, namely the good of nature, he asks to be preserved for him; hence he says, "The Lord preserve him," namely in the good he possesses, namely in the good of nature. Ps. 56: "Preserve me, O Lord," lest the good of nature be corrupted by sin or by threatening tribulations. He asks for the good of grace to be given when he says, "and give him life"; for through grace man has spiritual life. Now this life is to be considered, and it is possessed through formed faith. Hab. 2: "My just one lives by faith." Gal. 2: "And that I live now in the flesh, I live in the faith of the Son of God." Even without this life, namely of grace, our life is death. 1 Tim. 5: "She who lives in pleasures is dead." As to the third good, namely of glory, he says, "and make him blessed upon the earth." If this is understood of perfect beatitude, then "upon the earth" means the land of the living. Ps. 27: "I believe that I shall see the good things of the Lord in the land of the living." Mt. 5: "Blessed are the meek, for they shall possess the land." But if it is understood of the beatitude of this life, insofar as we taste something eternal in our minds, as is said in Phil. 3: "Our citizenship is in heaven," then "make him blessed upon the earth" means in this earth, namely by participation in that beatitude. "And deliver him not into the souls of his enemies." Here he asks to be freed from evils. Among all evils, the greatest evil is to fall into the hands of enemies. Ps. 59: "Deliver me from my enemies, O my God," because enemies out of hatred persecute and afflict. Hence he says, "Do not deliver him into the souls," that is, into the wills, of his enemies, whose nature is to always hate, which is nothing other than to will evil. When, therefore, someone is subjected to the wicked, he is delivered into the will of the enemy. Or, "into the souls of his enemies," that is, into the power of the Devil and his ministers.

"The Lord help him" [Psalm 41:3]. But when? Haply in heaven, haply in the life eternal, that so it remain to worship the devil for earthly needs, for the necessities of this life. Far be it! You have "promise of the life that now is, and of that which is to come." [1 Timothy 4:8] He came unto you on earth, by Whom were made heaven and earth. Consider then what He says, "The Lord help him, on his bed of pain." The bed of pain is the infirmity of the flesh; lest you should say, I cannot hold, and carry, and tie up my flesh; you are aided that you may. The Lord help you on your bed of pain. Your bed did carry you, you carried not your bed, but wast a paralytic inwardly; He comes who says to you, "Take up your bed, and go your way into your house." [Mark 2:11] "The Lord help him on his bed of pain." Then to the Lord Himself He turns, as though it were asked, Why then, since the Lord helps us, suffer we such great ills in this life, such great scandals, such great labours, such disquiet from the flesh and the world? He turns to God, and as though explaining to us the counsel of His healing, He says, "You have turned all his bed in his infirmity." By the bed is understood anything earthly. Every soul that is infirm in this life seeks for itself somewhat whereon to rest, because intensity of labour, and of the soul extended toward God, it can hardly endure perpetually, somewhat it seeks on earth whereon to rest, and in a manner with a kind of pausing to recline, as are those things which innocent ones love....The innocent man rests in his house, his family, his wife, his children; in his poverty, his little farm, his orchard planted with his own hand, in some building fabricated with his own study; in these rest the innocent. But yet God willing us not to have love but of life eternal, even with these, though innocent delights, mixes bitterness, that even in these we may suffer tribulation, and so He turns all our bed in our infirmity. "You have turned all his bed in his infirmity." Let him not then complain, when in these things which he has innocently, he suffers some tribulations. He is taught to love the better, by the bitterness of the worse; lest going a traveller to his country, he choose the inn instead of his own home.

May the Lord help him. That even in the present time the truth of these prophetic promises may be found. Many, laboring in sickness and disease, when they leave behind their own poor and needy works, are changed for the better. For if even on a future day judgment triumphs over mercy, what a marvel it would be, if also he would turn away by his rich mercy the death which we await, and he would restore strength? Surely this is the frailty of spirit, which is received in the inner man, wherein he has determined hands or the strength to do things. Even crippled knees are healed that were not strong before to walk on the way to life. Then the mercy bequeathed to the poor heals and revives the spirit held back by its grave disease of folly and brought to death from its sin. He, therefore, immediately added: "I said: Lord, have mercy on me, heal my soul, because I have sinned against you."

We can call the members of our own bodies our beds, in which our souls repose so delightfully as if in a bed. I think that is what the holy prophet had in mind when he says: "You have turned his whole bed in his sickness." Blessed is he whose bed the Lord turns in his sickness in order that he who not long ago was prone to anger, an adulterer, wanton and full of every sin due to his weaknesses, becomes chaste, humble and modest when the Lord turns a body which was accustomed to evil.

"The Lord bring him aid." Here is set forth a prayer for the merciful person in adversity. And first he asks for divine help or support; second he alleges the necessity of this. He says therefore, "The Lord bring him aid upon his bed of sorrow." He prays for the merciful person, or for the just man, a son of Korah simply, that the Lord give him life and make him blessed upon the earth. Second, that he preserve him and not deliver him into the souls of his enemies. And from this someone could infer that the merciful person would in no way be afflicted. Hence, to exclude this, he says that sometimes his bed is filled with sorrows, and this happens to the merciful person sometimes for correction. Job 33: "He rebukes sometimes through pain on the bed." Or for humiliation, as the thorn of the flesh was given to Paul, 2 Cor. 12. Or for testing, as in Job throughout, and in Tobit. And therefore he says, "The Lord bring him aid," that is, the merciful person in tribulation, "upon the bed," literally on which he lies, or on which he rests. 1 Cor. 10: "God is faithful, who will not allow you to be tempted beyond what you can bear." And that you bring him aid, a great necessity demands this, because "You have turned all his bed in his sickness." And he speaks here after the likeness of one with a fever, who finds no place on the bed where he can rest, but continually turns himself. And therefore he says, "You have turned"; as if to say: he needs aid because his infirmity is so great that he is continually turned about in bed. And this is according to the literal sense; yet simply everything through which he found rest in temporal things has been turned to bitterness for him, because God places bitterness in them, so that, having despised them, one may be converted to God. Eccl. 2: "And when I turned to all the works which my hands had wrought, I saw in all things vanity."

But why this? Because He "scourgeth every son whom He receiveth." Why this? Because to men sinning was it said, "In the sweat of thy face shall thou eat bread." Therefore because all these chastisements, in which all our bed is turned in our infirmity, man ought to acknowledge that he suffers for sin; let him turn himself, and say what follows: "I said, Lord, be merciful unto me; heal my soul, for I have sinned against Thee." O Lord, by tribulations do Thou exercise me; to be scourged Thou judgest every son whom Thou wilt receive, who sparedst not even the Only-Begotten. He indeed without sin was scourged; but I say, "I have sinned against Thee."...

One says: "The devil made me do it"; another says: "Fortune made me do it"; another: "I was compelled by fate," no one to himself. When you wish to be your own excuser, your accuser triumphs over you. Do you wish to do what will cause your accuser, that is, the devil, to grieve and lament? Do what you heard, do what you learned, and say to your God: I said, O Lord, have mercy on me; heal my soul, for I have sinned against you. I, he says, I have said, not the devil, not fortune, not fate. I said: I do not excuse myself, but I accuse myself. I said, have mercy on me, heal my soul. Why is it sick? Because I have sinned against you.

For just as we can strike and wound our own flesh whenever we wish, but seek a doctor to be healed, and we are not so healed by our own power as we are wounded by it, so the soul is sufficient for itself to sin, but implores God's healing right hand to heal what it has injured by sinning. Hence it says in another psalm: I said, O Lord, be merciful to me. Heal my soul, for I have sinned against You. To this, he adds: I said, O Lord, to show that the will and the choice to sin arise from the soul and are sufficient for it to destroy itself, but it belongs to God to seek what has perished and to save what has wounded itself. For the Son of Man came to seek and to save what was lost.

God will heal you if only you admit your wound. You lie under the physician's hands; patiently implore his aid. If he bathes or burns or cuts it, bear it calmly; do not even pay any attention to it, provided you are cured. Moreover, you will be cured if you present yourself to the doctor. Not that he does not see you hide, but confession is the very beginning of restoration to health.

When sinners are rebuked for their crimes … they do not all accept it with humility and obedience. Many do not blush to reply with most insolent boldness, saying, Am I the only one who did this? Have not those people, and those, done similar things or worse? Do not even the clergy with major orders commit such sins? Unhappy soul! A crowd of miserable people is a comfort to you. Can the individual sinner be tormented any less if immense crowds of sinners begin to be tortured in eternal punishment with him? How much better it would be for each one to flee the evil of his sins and exclaim in humble confession, "I said, O Lord, be merciful to me. Heal my soul, for I have sinned against you," and, "I know my iniquity, and my sin is always before me." For the good of his soul he should follow the examples of those who were honestly converted after many sins, rather than propose for imitation those who will suffer endless punishment after brief joy.

Every sin is a sickness of the soul. As it grows stronger, the health of the inner person decreases. He who cried out to the Physician was aware of his illness, but in that understanding he was already healthy in so far as he recognized that he was weak. So he wishes for his soul to be healed, namely, by the forgiveness of sins.

I am the one who is poor, he is saying, who embraced voluntary poverty, the Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world, who makes my own the sufferings of human beings, who though having committed no sin offers the prayer for human nature as nature's firstfruits. It should be noted, however, that Symmachus said not "because I sinned against you" but "even if I sinned against you."

And because to the merciful mercy is owed, being conscious of his mercy, I ask for mercy. First, therefore, he asks for mercy absolutely; second he shows in what respect he especially asks for it; third he assigns the cause of the petition. He says therefore, "O Lord, I said, have mercy on me"; as if to say: I do not have recourse to justice, but to mercy, because our salvation is not in our own acts of justice. Is. 64: "All our acts of justice are like a polluted garment." But in what does he ask for mercy? Where misery especially is. And this, namely mercy, is given where there is the highest beatitude, because beatitude does not consist in bodily things, since bodily things are ordered to ultimate beatitude. Therefore the chief misery is not in bodily things but in those things that have in themselves a disposition contrary to beatitude, such as in adulteries, thefts, murders, and other sins; and whoever does such things shall not obtain the kingdom of God, as the Apostle says in Gal. 5, but is damned. Prov. 14: "Sin makes peoples wretched." For sin has disordered the body, and the body has disordered the soul. Wis. 9: "The body which is corrupted weighs down the soul." And this health is had from God alone. Wis. 16: "Neither herb nor poultice healed them, but your word, O Lord." And the reason for this petition is: "because I have sinned against you." But do sins merit mercy? No. This, therefore, is connected in such a way that the word "because" designates the matter of mercy, not its merit. There is no misery where there is not a place for mercy. And therefore, because I am wretched, I ask for mercy. Or the word "because" denotes the meritorious cause, and thus, because the confession of sin is the merit of mercy, therefore he says: I ask for mercy because I confess that I have sinned against you. Prov. 28: "He who hides his sins," etc. "But he who confesses shall obtain mercy." Or otherwise, "because I have sinned against you"; as if to say: why do I ask for mercy? Because you alone are the one who can heal, because the injury and sin were committed against you; therefore remission pertains to you. And in every sin God is offended. And this verse is sung at the third hour, because by the faith and operation of the Trinity sin is remitted.

"Mine enemies speak evil of Me, When He shall die, then shall His Name perish" [Psalm 41:5]. Of this we have already spoken, and from this began.

"My enemies have spoken." Above, the Psalmist asked for healing mercy; here, however, he sets forth the necessity of such a petition, which is caused by enemies. And according to the mystical sense, because the literal is plain, in this passage these words are spoken in the person of Christ. Concerning which he does three things. First he sets forth the malice of the wicked desiring his harm. Second he sets forth their scheming to entrap him, at "And if he came in." Third he sets forth their deliberation, at "Against me, because the enemy." First he desires to harm. Second he lies in ambush. Third he considers how it may be accomplished. He says therefore, "My enemies have spoken," in their heart or with their mouth, "evil things to me." Mt. 12: "The evil man out of an evil treasure brings forth," etc. And these evil words express their desire for the death of Christ, or of the just man. Hence it is said, "When will he die?" This is the mode of expressing desire. Ps. 42: "When shall I come and appear?" etc. Wis. 2: "Let us condemn him to a most shameful death." And they wished the death of Christ so that his fame, which was then celebrated, might be extinguished. Jer. 11: "Let us destroy him from the land of the living, and let his name be remembered no more." Hence they say, "And his name shall perish." But the contrary happened, because through death he was more exalted, and more were converted after the death of Christ. Jn. 12: "Unless the grain of wheat falling into the ground dies, it brings forth much fruit." And although the wicked lie in ambush against the good to extinguish their name, yet, as is said in Prov. 10: "The memory of the just is with praises."

Judas went out, and he spoke. He went out from the faith, he went out from the council and number of the apostles. He went out from Christ's banquet to the villainy of Satan; he went out from the grace that sanctifies to the noose that strangles. He went to speak vain things to infidels. He went outside, leaving behind the mysteries of life that lay within. He went out, for he had never known the mysteries that are contained in Scripture.

"And entered in to see." What Christ suffered, that suffereth also the Church; what the Head suffered, that suffer also the Members. "For the disciple is not above his Master, nor the servant above his Lord." ...

If to Christ's Members thou belongest, come within, cling to the Head. Endure the tares if thou art wheat, endure the chaff if thou art grain. Endure the bad fish within the net if thou art a good fish. Wherefore before the time of winnowing dost thou fly away? Wherefore before the time of harvest, dost thou root up the corn also with thyself? Wherefore before thou art come to the shore, hast thou broken the nets? "They go abroad, and tell it."

Now, the outcome of events testifies to these things: furtively they conversed together and looked for the way to implement the plot. Then they made a charge of overthrow, saying to Pilate, "He makes himself king and forbids us paying tribute to Caesar," which is what the prophecy says: "They set up a lawless plan against me." That is, they leveled a charge of lawlessness against me.

And sinners procure this by lying in ambush. Thus he first sets forth the manner of ambush. Second he shows the effect of the ambush, at "He came in." Concerning the first he does three things. For first he proposes the deceitful entry. Second, the feigned speech. Third, the insidious disposition. He says therefore, "If he came in to see me." Jerome has, "to visit"; as if to say: they did not come for the sake of friendship, but for the sake of spying. Thus the leaders of the Jews came to catch Jesus. Thus also after the death of Christ, many entered the Church to catch and lie in ambush against holy men. This is what the Apostle says in Gal. 2: "On account of false brethren secretly brought in, who crept in to spy out our liberty." As to the second he says, "He spoke vain things," that is, the people of the Jews spoke false things against Christ, because with their mouth they feigned sweet words. Mt. 22: "Master, we know that you are truthful." And inwardly they plotted death. Ps. 12: "They have spoken vanities, each one to his neighbor; with deceitful lips they have spoken with a double heart." As to the third he says, "His heart gathered iniquity to itself." An insidious disposition is one that gathers words with which to harm the just man. For these do not act like bees that gather honey, but like dung beetles that gather dung. But the good gather honey, because from divine sweetness they sweeten others. And therefore he says, "His heart gathered iniquity to itself." And he says, "to itself," that is, against itself. Prov. 1: "They lie in ambush against their own blood." Or, "to itself," that is, to achieve its own desire, because if they could catch him in some evil, they would greatly rejoice. Sir. 18: "If you grant to your soul its desires, it will make you a joy to your enemies." Thus they spoke against Christ, Mt. 27: "We have remembered that that deceiver," etc. Next the effect of the ambush is shown, because going out they slandered; hence he says, "He went out and spoke to the same effect." He went out either from pretense, or from malice, or from familiarity, or from friendship; because before he was and appeared as a friend, and thus he spoke to the same effect, that is, falsehood, as before, and words of falsity. Or he went out from the bosom of truth, or from the friendship he feigned, or from the Church, or from the company of Christ. Jn. 6: "Many of his disciples went back."

"All mine enemies whisper against Me unto the same thing" [Psalm 41:7]. Against Me all unto the same thing. How much better with me unto the same thing, than against me "unto the same thing." What is, "Against me unto the same thing"? With one counsel, with one conspiring. Christ then speaks unto you, You consent against Me, consent ye to Me: why against Me? Wherefore not with Me? That same thing if you had always had, you had not divided you into schisms. For, says the Apostle, "I beseech you, brethren, that you all speak the same thing, and that there be no division among you." [1 Corinthians 1:10] "All mine enemies whisper against Me unto the same thing:" against Me do they "devise evil to Me." To themselves rather, for "they have gathered iniquity to themselves;" but therefore to Me, because by their intention they are to be weighed: for not because to do nothing was in their power, to do nothing was in their will. For the devil lusted to extinguish Christ, and Judas would slay Christ; yet Christ slain and rising again, we are made alive, but to the devil and to Judas is rendered the reward of their evil will, not of our salvation....The intention wherewith they spoke, not what they spoke, did He consider, who related that they spoke evil of Him, "Against Me they devised evil to Me." And what evil to Christ, to the Martyrs what evil? All has God turned to good.

"Against me." Here he shows their evil counsel, how they might do harm. And first he sets forth the counsel of enemies. Second he shows that in this also some good friends concurred, at "The man of my peace." And first he sets forth the order of deliberating, showing that first the counselors assemble. Second they discuss what they deliberate about. Third they determine what is to be done. And he describes these three things here. He says therefore, "All my enemies whispered against me." The Gloss says, "He went out." And after follows, "To the same effect," etc. And this is found in the text of Jerome, yet it matters not. And he says, "They whispered," that is, they spoke silently; and this is the manner especially of counselors, and especially of evil counsels and evil men, who do this in secret. Lev. 19: "You shall not be a slanderer nor a whisperer among the peoples." Sir. 28: "The whisperer and the double-tongued is accursed," etc. And he says, "Against me." And thus they are not good counsels but evil. Ps. 36: "He has meditated iniquity on his bed." And therefore "they devised evil things against me." Ps. 1: "Blessed is the man who has not gone," etc. "They determined an unjust word against me," that is, an unjust thing. This, therefore, they determined in their council. Jn. 11: "It is expedient for you that one man should die for the people." And from that hour they plotted, etc. Mt. 21: "This is the heir; come, let us kill him." Wis. 2: "Let us condemn him to a most shameful death." This unjust word is found in Jer. 18: "You know, O Lord, their counsel against me unto evil and death."

"An ungodly word do they set forth against Me" (ver. 8). What sort of ungodly word? Listen to the Head Itself. "Come, let us kill Him, and the inheritance shall be ours." Fools! How shall the inheritance be yours? Because ye killed Him? Lo! ye even killed Him; yet shall not the inheritance be yours. "Shall not He that sleepeth add this also, that He rise again"? When ye exulted that ye had slain Him, He slept; for He saith in another Psalm, "I slept." They raged and would slay Me; "I slept." If I had not willed, I had not even slept. "I slept," because "I have power to lay down My life, and I have power to take it again." "I laid Me down and slept, and rose up again." Rage then the Jews; be "the earth given into the hands of the wicked," be the flesh left to the hands of persecutors, let them on wood suspend it, with nails transfix it, with a spear pierce it. "Shall He that sleepeth, not add this, that He rise up again?" Wherefore slept He? Because "Adam is the figure of Him that was to come." And Adam slept, when out of his side was made Eve. Adam in the figure of Christ, Eve in the figure of the Church; whence she was called "the mother of all living." When was Eve created? While Adam slept. When out of Christ's side flowed the Sacraments of the Church? While He slept upon the Cross.

"Shall he who sleeps rise again?" Here he sets forth the reasoning behind their wicked determination. The word "not" is superfluous; as if to say: he who sleeps will not rise again; as if to say: if we kill him, he will not rise. Wis. 2: "There is no one who has been known to have returned from the dead." And therefore they believed the resurrection to be a deception. Or otherwise: "Shall he who sleeps," etc., so that the word "not" is construed with "rise again," and the sense is that these are the words of the Church taunting them; as if to say: you determined to kill him, but you did this in vain, because he will rise again. Hence he says, "Shall he who sleeps not rise again?" And he says "sleeps," because this is also said in Dan. 12: "Many of those who sleep in the dust of the earth shall awake." For simply speaking, the death of Christ was a sleep, because he himself laid down his life in death, and he died not by violence but by his own will. And therefore he had the power to take up his soul again by the power of his divinity. 2 Cor. 13: "Although he died from weakness, yet he lives by the power of God."

We need not imagine that Jesus did not know that Judas was going to betray him.… Of course Jesus knew it. But in order to emphasize how damnable was the deed, Jesus speaks of the hopes he had held regarding Judas' loyalty.… We come down more heavily on one in whom we say we had high hopes or great trust, if afterwards that person robs us of our hope and high opinion.… This is why Jesus says that he had hoped, it was as though he had a right to hope. For surely one would expect an apostle to lay aside his old ways and follow new and better ways.

"The man of My peace, in whom I trusted, which did eat of My bread, hath enlarged his heel against Me" (ver. 9): hath raised up his foot against Me: would trample upon Me. Who is this man of His peace? Judas. And in him did Christ trust, that He said, "in whom I trusted"? Did He not know him from the beginning? Did He not before he was born know that he would be? Had He not said to all His disciples, "I have chosen you twelve, and one of you is a devil"? How then trusted He in him, but that He is in His Members, and that because many faithful trusted in Judas, the Lord transferred this to Himself? ..."The man of My peace, in whom I trusted, which did eat of My bread." How showed He him in His Passion? By the words of His prophecy: by the sop He marked Him out, that it might appear said of him, "Which did eat of My bread." Again, when he came to betray Him, He granted him a kiss, that it might appear said of him, "The man of My peace."

The one who shared the same table with me and the same food proved to be a foe the more threatening the more he concealed his malice under his close relationship. The Lord also suffered this in the case of Judas: in that case, too, it was not someone from the outer group of disciples who concocted plots but one who gave the impression of being closely related and sharing with him table and food.

So after he had washed their feet, and had taken his garments, and was set down again, he said unto them, Know ye what I have done to you? Ye call me Master and Lord: and ye say well; for so I am. If I then, your Lord and Master, have washed your feet; ye also ought to wash one another's feet. For I have given you an example, that ye should do as I have done to you. Verily, verily, I say unto you, The servant is not greater than his lord; neither he that is sent greater than he that sent him. If ye know these things, happy are ye if ye do them. I speak not of you all: I know whom I have chosen: but that the scripture may be fulfilled, He that eateth bread with me hath lifted up his heel against me. [Psalms 41:9] Now I tell you before it come, that, when it is come to pass, ye may believe that I am he. Verily, verily, I say unto you, He that receiveth whomsoever I send receiveth me; and he that receiveth me receiveth him that sent me.

"Even the man of my peace, in whom I trusted." Above, the Psalmist set forth the counsel of enemies plotting the death of Christ; here, however, he introduces the counsel of friends. And because Christ himself, in Jn. 13, introduces this word concerning Judas, therefore let us here explain this of Christ. Where he does two things. First the condition of Judas is described. Second, his guilt. The condition of the person of Judas is described from three things that aggravate the sin: because he was a friend, because he was familiar, and because he had received benefits. He says therefore, as to the first: "Even the man of my peace." He said above that he slept, at the instigation of the traitor. Or, "They determined an unjust word against me," the enemies. But this is not surprising, because "the man of my peace," because Judas was reckoned among his friends. This prophecy was fulfilled in deed, because he betrayed Christ with a kiss, which is a sign of friendship and peace. Hence the Lord said in Lk. 22: "Judas, do you betray the Son of Man with a kiss?" Ps. 28: "They speak peace with their neighbor," etc. Jer. 20: "I heard the insults of many, and terror on every side, from all the men who were at peace with him, and watching his side." Likewise he was a familiar; hence, "in whom I trusted." But was Christ deceived in his hope? No. And therefore he says, "in whom I trusted," that is, in whom I seemed to trust, that is, to confide, because he had committed to him the management of his affairs. Or, "in whom I trusted," that is, of such a condition that I bore myself toward him in such a way that I ought to have been able to trust in him. But sometimes one believes he can trust in one whom he considers a friend and in whom he ought to confide, and yet is deceived. Jer. 9: "Do not have confidence in any brother of yours." Mic. 7: "Do not trust a friend, and do not confide in a leader." Or, "in whom I trusted," in my members who trusted in Christ. Mt. 25: "What you did to one of these my least ones, you did to me." As to the third he says, "who ate my bread," because Christ designated him with the sign of bread. Jn. 13: "He to whom I shall give the dipped bread." And although Judas ate the bread of Christ, yet he proceeded against him. Sir. 29: "He will feed and give drink to the ungrateful." Or, "my bread," that is, my teaching. Gen. 49: "Asher, his bread shall be fat, and he shall yield royal dainties." Such bread is the bread of Christ, which is rich on account of the sweetness of his teaching. Ps. 119: "How sweet," etc. "He has greatly supplanted me." Behold the sin. Jerome has: "He has lifted up his heel against me." And he speaks after the likeness of one who wishes to completely crush someone; as if to say: he attempted to utterly destroy me. And the diversity of translations seems to have arisen from an equivocation, because what is lifted up on high is magnified. Or, "He has greatly supplanted me," that is, he committed a great act of treachery against me, because he brought about my death. Jer. 9: "Every supplanter shall be supplanted." Amos 5: "They hated the one who rebuked in the gate."

O Lord, as you have raised your Son from death, so lift me from sin. Lift me, and I will repay them. In this I know that you suffered for me so that my enemies may not rejoice over me. You have not refused even to die for me. I feared you lying in the tomb, but since you have arisen my enemy will not rejoice over me. You have sustained me on account of my innocence. The church speaks in the apostles and prophets because the farmers and fishermen raised up by God, not the philosophers and teachers, have built the church that God has confirmed in his sight forever.

"But Thou, O Lord, be merciful unto Me" [Psalm 41:10]. This is the person of a servant, this is the person of the needy and poor for, "Blessed is he that understandeth upon the needy and poor One." See, as it was spoken, "Be merciful unto Me, and raise Me up, and I will requite them," so is it done. For the Jews slew Christ, lest they should lose their place. Christ slain, they lost their place. Rooted out of the kingdom were they, dispersed were they. He, raised up, requited them tribulation, He requited them unto admonition, not yet unto condemnation. For the city wherein the people raged, as a ramping and a roaring lion, crying out, "Crucify Him, Crucify Him," the Jews rooted out therefrom, hath now Christians, by not one Jew is inhabited. There is planted the Church of Christ, whence were rooted out the thorns of the synagogue. For truly this fire blazed "as the fire of thorns." But the Lord was as a green tree. This said Himself, when certain women mourned Christ as dying. ..."For if they do these things in a green tree, what shall be done in a dry?" When can a green tree be consumed by the fire of thorns? For they blazed as fire among thorns. Fire consumeth thorns, but whatsoever green tree it is applied to, is not easily kindled. ...Yet lest ye think that God the Father of Christ could raise up Christ, that is, the Flesh of His Son, and that Christ Himself, though He be the Word equal with the Father, could not raise up His own Flesh; hear out of the Gospel, "Destroy this temple, and in three days I will raise it up." "But," said the Evangelist (lest even after this we should doubt), "He spake of the temple of His Body. Raise Me up, and I will requite them."

"But you." Christ has now set forth his petition in general; here, however, he shows in what respect he asks for mercy. Hence he says: they have disturbed me, but there remains nothing except that I have recourse to God; and therefore he says, "But you, O Lord, have mercy on me." Mercy ought to be where there is misery; now Christ was made a partaker of our misery, not as to guilt but as to punishability, and especially as to the punishment of death. And therefore, "Have mercy on me." Ps. 89: "My mercy I will not take from him." But in what respect he asks for mercy, he shows when he says, "Raise me up"; as if to say: they say he will not rise again, but you raise me up. But did not Christ rise by his own power, since he says "Raise me up"? Indeed it seems that he did, because the Psalmist says in the person of Christ, "I have slept and I have risen," Ps. 3. It must be said that Christ according as he is man did not have the power to rise, but according to the power of the divinity, which is the same in the Father and the Son. And therefore if he rose by the power of the Father, he rose by his own power. And he asks from the Father, as man, what he had as God, to show that this is accomplished by the power of the divinity. "And I will repay them." Here is set forth the effect of this. Christ had a twofold power after the resurrection, because in heaven and on earth; and therefore he repaid them with temporal captivity, because they were scattered throughout the world, and he will repay them in the future with damnation. Jn. 5: "He gave him power to execute judgment." Jerome has: "Raise me up and I will repay you"; as if to say: this is the fruit of the resurrection, that having been raised I will bring many to the knowledge of your name. Ps. 116: "What shall I render to the Lord," etc.

"By this I know that Thou favourest Me, that Mine enemies shall not triumph over Me." Because the Jews did triumph, when they saw Christ crucified; they thought that they had fulfilled their will to do Him hurt: the fruits of their cruelty they saw in effect, Christ hanging on the Cross: they shook their heads, saying, "If Thou be the Son of God, come down from the Cross." He came not down, who could; His Potency He showed not, but patience taught. For if, on their saying these things, He had come down from the Cross, He would have seemed as it were to yield to them insulting, and not being able to endure reproach, would have been believed conquered: more firm remained He upon the Cross, than they insulting; fixed was He, they wavering. For therefore shook they their heads, because to the true Head they adhered not. He taught us plainly patience. For mightier is that which He did, who would not do what the Jews challenged. For much mightier is it to rise from the sepulchre, than to come down from the Cross. "That Mine enemies shall not triumph over Me." They triumphed then at that time. Christ rose again, Christ was glorified. Now see they in His Name the human race converted: now let them insult, now shake the head: rather now let them fix the head, or if they shake the head, in wonder and admiration let them shake...

You notice that he hints more clearly at the repayment here in his mentioning, not vengeance by the wronged but personal disappointment by the frustrated, which resulted in their punishing themselves on seeing the one they envied held in high esteem. His meaning here is, in fact, Show, Lord, how you care for me by their not rejoicing in the vile hopes they have for me.

All this was said on the part of the nature assumed, which was involved also in the passion.… Since, then, the assumed nature remained free of all wickedness, it was right for him to say, "But you supported me for my innocence and confirmed me in your presence forever": I received a stable unity, the combining was indivisible, the glory everlasting.

"In this I know." Here he sets forth his confidence of being heard. And first he sets forth that God willed him, that is, it was pleasing to the Father's will in him. Hence he says, "that you have willed me." Mt. 3: "This is my beloved Son, in whom I am well pleased." Is. 42: "My soul is pleased in him." Likewise he says, "My enemy shall not rejoice over me," that is, Judas; and even if he rejoiced at his death, he will not finally rejoice, because he will be saddened at the resurrection. Mic. 7: "Do not rejoice over me, O my enemy, because I have fallen; I shall rise again." And this text can be arranged in two ways. In one way, so that the first is the argument for the second, and the sense is: from this, that I consider that I am acceptable to you. In another way, so that the second is the cause of the first, and the sense is: because my enemy will not be able to rejoice over me, I have known that you have willed me. But because he needed some sign, he says, "I have known," that is, I have made known, or because others have known this.

Be not offended, careful reader, that we draw a mystical matter from a moral explanation. For just as the Pharisees beset Judas to betray the Lord by offering him his own safety to turn him over, so also unclean spirits beset my outer man which eats my bread and offer to it now money through greed, now luxury through desire, by which, if it accepts, it fails, and when it fails they drive him "to hang himself in a noose," that is, so that he despairs that he is able to be freed by repentance. But he says to them: He who sleeps, will he not arise?… Let us cease to harm ourselves, and let us be made innocent so that each one may say rightly to God: On account of my innocence you have sustained me, and you who had cast me away from your countenance because of sin, now through repentance strengthen me in your sight forever.

"But as for Me, Thou upholdest Me, because of Mine innocence." Truly innocence; integrity without sin, requiting without debt, scourging without desert. "Thou upholdest Me because of Mine innocence, and hast made Me strong in Thy sight for ever." Thou hast made Me strong for ever, Thou madest Me weak for a time: Thou hast made Me strong in Thy sight, Thou madest Me weak in sight of men. What then? Praise to Him, glory to Him. "Blessed be the Lord God of Israel." For He is the God of Israel, our God, the God of Jacob, the God of the younger son, the God of the younger people. Let none say, Of the Jews said He this, I am not Israel; rather the Jews are not Israel. For the elder son, he is the elder people reprobated; the younger, the people beloved. "The elder shall serve the younger:" now is it fulfilled: now, brethren, the Jews serve us, they are as our satchellers, we studying, they carry our books. Hear wherein the Jews serve us, and not without reason. ...With them are the Law and the Prophets, in which. Law, and in which Prophets, Christ is preached. When we have to do with Pagans, and show this coming to pass in the Church of Christ, which before was predicted of the Name of Christ, of the Head and Body of Christ, lest they think that we have forged these predictions, and from things which have happened, as though they were future, had made them up, we bring forth the books of the Jews. The Jews forsooth are our enemies, from an enemy's books convince we the adversary. ...If any enemy clamour and say, "Ye for yourselves have forged prophecies;" be the books of the Jews brought forth, because the elder shall serve the younger. Therein let them read those predictions, which now we see fulfilled; and let us all say, "Blessed be the Lord God of Israel, from everlasting to everlasting, and all the people shall say, So be it, So be it."

What a truly holy innocence and simplicity, a truly blessed humility!.… He did not defend himself with any struggle. He was moving toward the cross with a peaceful spirit, going to die with a tranquil mind. He fulfilled all the words predicted by the prophets by his own undefiled integrity. He felt grief at the misfortunes of his persecutors, and when he was hung on the cross, he prayed for his enemies in an act of incredible mercy, for he had determined that all the faithful should also do this.… Now that he has laid aside the weakness inherent in a mortal body, the God-Man, one of two natures, also continues in these two distinct and complete natures in eternal glory. His name is above every name; his power commands heaven and earth.

"But you have upheld me because of my innocence," etc. Here, having been heard, he gives thanks. And first he confesses the benefit. Second he adds praise, at "Blessed." In the benefit he confesses all that pertains to himself. For first he sets forth the merit. Second he shows the benefit of the resurrection. Third, the state of the risen one. Fourth, the exultation. As to his merit, let us consider his innocence; hence he says, "You have upheld me because of my innocence." 1 Pet. 2: "He committed no sin." Ps. 26: "But I have walked in my innocence." And from this merit he says he was upheld, or taken up. He does not say this of the assumption into the unity of the person, because that assumption was not from the merits of the man Christ himself, but from pure grace; hence it was accomplished by the operation of the Holy Spirit. Rather, he says this of the reception from the dead, by which he rose. Ps. 3: "But you, O Lord, are my upholder." And he says, "You have upheld," namely my soul from the dead, and my flesh from the tomb. But in what manner was he upheld? Was it to mortal life, like Lazarus? No; but he was upheld to the state of immortality. Hence he says, "And you have confirmed me in your sight forever," that is, in the state of immortality. Rom. 6: "Christ, rising from the dead, dies no more." And still more: because he established him before his sight. Heb. 9: "He entered into heaven itself, that he may appear before the face of God for us." And this "forever," that is, always.

"So be it, so be it" is also an indication that you have reached the end of a book. The psalter appears to be divided into five books, and the first book ends with this psalm, namely, the forty-first. The forty-first psalm concludes very fittingly with the passion, just as the forty-day period of Lent concludes with the Lord's passion. This allows the second book to begin with the mysteries of regeneration.

"Blessed be the Lord." Here he sets forth praise, and concerning this he does two things. First he sets forth certain things on the part of the one praised; second, on the part of the one praising. "Blessed." To bless is nothing other than to speak well. We bless God in one way, and God blesses us in another. We bless God by acknowledging his goodness. Tob. 12: "Bless the God of heaven." Sir. 43: "Blessing the Lord, exalt him as much as you can." But God blesses us by causing goodness in us, because his speaking is his doing. Ps. 148: "He spoke, and they were made." The second he shows when he says, "the Lord." The power of God is considered according to two things. First, according to the work of governance. Wis. 12: "But you, the ruler of power, judge with tranquillity, and with great reverence you dispose of us." And according to the work of creation. And he touches on these two when he says "Lord," to whom it pertains to govern; second when he says "God," for all consider that to be God which is the first principle of being for all things. But the work of governance has ministers; in the work of creation, however, there can be no ministry. Hence the honor that is due to a governor can be communicated to others. Gal. 4: "You received me as an angel of God." And this is dulia. But latria, which is due to the Creator, is owed to no one else. And therefore the Gloss says: "Lord," to whom dulia is due; "God," to whom latria is due. And he says, "of Israel," that is, of those who see God; because even though he governs all things, nevertheless only the faithful obtain the abundant fruit of governance, which is life. And even if all worship God, yet the faithful alone offer the worship of latria to God alone. The third he shows when he says, "from age to age," because your power is not bodily but eternal. Ps. 145: "Your kingdom is a kingdom of all ages." On the part of the one praising he says two things: namely, the confession of the mouth. Rom. 10: "With the heart one believes unto justice, and with the mouth confession is made unto salvation." And he does this when he says, "Blessed be God," etc. Likewise, the delight of the will. Phil. 4: "Rejoice in the Lord." And therefore he says, "So be it, so be it"; as if to say: he takes delight in his goods, and he repeats it to signify the continuation of this delight. 1 Chr. 29: "O Lord God, preserve this will." In the Hebrew it has "Amen, Amen." And because "Amen, Amen" is placed at the end of books, some believe that the Book of Psalms is divided into many books, and that one is completed here. But this is not true, because "So be it," or "Amen," is placed here as a continuation of the will, not as the completion of a work.