68 And some of the chief of the fathers, when they came to the house of the LORD which is at Jerusalem, offered freely for the house of God to set it up in his place:
“A canticle of David, when the house was built after the captivity.” So far as the literal sense is concerned, the heading points to the time when the temple at Jerusalem is known to have been refurbished by Zerubbabel, son of Salathiel, after it had been leveled to the ground by a hostile band of Chaldeans. But since he says nothing of this kind in what follows, and since the headings of psalms are never at variance with their content, it remains for us to investigate it in the spiritual sense. A destroyed house is built up when a soul following the captivity of sin begins to return to an understanding of the truth through the generosity of the Lord. This house, which is the universal church in which Christ dwells, is always raised up on living stones, because every day it gains increase in building from its confessors and does not cease to be built up until the number of the predestined is attained at the end of the world. We must store this psalm in our minds as the second of those proclaiming the first and the second coming of the Lord.
And of the leaders of the fathers, when they entered the temple of the Lord, etc. It is a great sign of devotion when someone, not only offering the due oblations, which are commanded by the law of the Lord, but also in addition to these, offering other things which are not commanded but are advised, freely offers his gifts to the divine majesty. For it is commanded: Thou shalt not kill, thou shalt not commit adultery, thou shalt not steal, thou shalt not bear false witness; honor thy father and mother, and thou shalt love thy neighbor as thyself (Matt. XIX). The voluntary offering, however, is: If thou wilt be perfect, go, sell what thou hast, and give to the poor. And what the Apostle says: Concerning virgins, I have no commandment of the Lord, but I give counsel (1 Cor. VII). And concerning himself: The Lord has ordained that they who preach the gospel should live by the gospel, but I have used none of these things (1 Cor. IX). And to the Thessalonians: Neither did we eat any man's bread for nought, but worked with labor and travail night and day, that we might not be burdensome to any of you; not because we have not power, but to make ourselves an example for you to follow (1 Thess. IV). Therefore, it is rightly said that the leaders of the fathers freely offered gifts for the construction of the house of God; because the more someone abstains from what is forbidden and even from what is allowed, the more effectively he builds the Church of God; when all who know their examples of perfection fear falling into illicit acts themselves, seeing that these men do not use even lawful things fully; they rather say, All things are lawful for me, but not all things are expedient (1 Cor. VI). It is also rightly said that they gave according to their ability for the expenses of the work. For this is the measure of human perfection, to labor for the Lord according to one's ability and to establish the state of the holy Church, first by rightly conducting one's own life, and then by correcting others. And those who live in this way among the people of God are rightly called leaders of the fathers; because by the perfection of their lives and teachings, they rule over those who, by the merit of their pious care, deserved to be called fathers in the Church, living more excellently and transcending the general commandments of the law. They gave voluntary offerings: gold, silver, priestly garments. In the gold, we perceive the brightness of wisdom; in silver, the purity of eloquence; in priestly garments, the works of justice, transcending much the manners of the common people and worthy only of hearts consecrated to priesthood and God. For the desirable treasure rests in the mouth of the wise; and the words of the Lord are pure words, as silver tried in a furnace of earth; and let thy priests be clothed with righteousness (Ps. XI, XVII, CXXXI). Thus, the leaders of the fathers offer gold, silver, and priestly garments according to their ability for the expenses of the works of the temple, when holy men, whatever wisdom, eloquence, or good deeds they possess, use them all well for the building up of the faithful of Christ. There is indeed a certain weight of gold and silver, a certain number of priestly garments recorded in holy history, so that following the preceding exposition of the numbers of vessels, men, and animals, we may remember that the Lord can always observe all our thoughts, words, and actions, and reward them with worthy merit. Among all these, it should be noted how much the people of God benefitted from the injustice of captivity and long servitude. Those who were in a very small number carried away captive, that is, the souls of men, as Jeremiah writes, four thousand six hundred, while others were either killed or widely scattered in fear of the enemy, or certainly left in their homeland by the mercy of the same enemies, now multiplied among the enemies, almost fifty thousand men returned to their homeland. Those who were stripped of their wealth and equally subjected to every kind of servitude, now not only freed but also returned enriched with gold and silver, garments, servants, substance, and beasts. And because it greatly pertains to the matter, they who lost their homeland due to the multitude of false gods, so that it was said to them by the reproaching prophet, According to the number of your cities were your gods, Judah (Jer. II); now return to the same homeland, not only rejoicing in the faith of one true God but also united in the same faith and worshiping with unanimous devotion and soul, submitting themselves with a religious mind and tongue to sing His praises; so that those who once were distinguished by the divided names of Israel and Judah due to the diversity of religion, now are all called by the ancient name of Israel due to the unity of piety. The worship of piety, which they spurned in the holy land while the prophets proclaimed and demonstrated examples of justice, they now embraced in a foreign land serving idol-worshipping enemies. What then is to be looked at in these things? What is to be commended to memory? Except that those whom freedom and abundance of all things in their homeland made neglectful and oblivious of heavenly commandments, were brought to the service of their Creator and Redeemer by servitude abroad and poverty. For it is a familiar thing that the human heart is dissolved by wealth and freedom, but is recollected by hardships and poverty. Therefore, what was once done for one people is now usually performed daily for all those repenting after sin; while those who through negligence fell into the snares and temptations of the devil, with divine aid through the diligence of penance rise again; those who were stripped of the riches of virtues by the ancient enemy and departed from the society of the Church, often return to its communion more practiced in virtues than they had previously lost; because evidently, the more grievously they remember having erred, the more ardently they strive to labor in good works.
[AD 585] Cassiodorus on Ezra 2:64-70