Psalms 3

Certainly, people place their glory in various places, some in their country, some in family line, some in beauty, some in the strength of their bodies and in their skill of competing in the contest, being very elated they have overcome these people or those by their physical struggling. And why is it necessary to recount all the things through which those unknown gods are glorified, "whose glory is in their shame," as the apostle said? God is the glory of the saint who trusts him, glory, I say, not blindly credited but credited through faith that is reckoned as righteousness, through which one is enabled to see the signs of a present God and participate in his strength. So, God was the glory of Moses who loved the prophet so much that he revealed himself to the point of showing his face both before all the Hebrew people and before the Egyptians. God was the glory of the prophet Elijah, who revived the son of the widow and begged for the rain to be held back, and who continually was heard. God was speaking truth, therefore, when he said, "I will only honor them honoring me." God is the glory of them who are magnified in their strength, which no one other than the Father places in them, who hand themselves over to him for sustaining their souls.

The verse clearly teaches that the one who comes to the greatest virtue, to very great security, comes on account of faith in God.… The Savior, recognizing that thousands of the people of the circumcision were going to demand that he be crucified and knowing his own spirit of fearlessness (I say these things speaking in terms of the flesh), is able to say even these words.

We readily accept this psalm as spoken from the person of David, as we have noted in its title. According to history, certain men were hurting David, many of whom as their number increased were joining themselves to Absalom.… Those who were oppressing the Savior were Jews who were shouting, "Away with him; away with him!" Judas the betrayer and Caiphas rose up against him. The ones who said that there was no deliverance of his life were the same ones passing by him at the time of his suffering who said, "Come down from the cross and we will believe you." … But, one may also understand this passage in this way: all the rulers and teachers of subjects that are foreign to the decrees of Christ who have come against him. The people who cling to them and follow their teaching cause him trial. Finally, they who, neither teaching contrary matters nor instructed by false teaching, believe that there is no divine nature in the teaching of Christ, they say there is no salvation of the soul in God. They say that there is not anything that promises salvation either in the word of his teaching or the historical signs that he relates concerning his advent.

He has struck his adversaries, he has broken the teeth of sinners; indeed, so that he may heal them again: "I will strike [he said], and again I will heal." He has broken the teeth of sinners, or, in other words, the wicked words and carnal actions, because he desires to destroy them in the inmost parts. Perhaps he has called those same ones adversaries and sinners: since he has broken the teeth of all sinners who turned against Christ, but especially the Jews on account of unfaithfulness; those teeth about which in another psalm he says, "Those who devour my people as bread, and they do not call on the Lord." He broke these teeth … when he arose from the dead.

The preceding psalm calls to mind this mountain when it says, "I have installed my king on mount Zion, my holy mountain." Christ was the one he was speaking of, and now David bears witness that he must be heard plainly by Christ from his holy mountain. Further, he says who is going to hear him except the Lord who has been installed as king upon Zion his holy mountain? Through this statement he [David], now alone, believed that he would be forgiven, that his glory would return and that his head would be lifted up.

As in the previous psalm so here the future is prophesied.… "I lie down, and I sleep" is spoken prophetically, namely, I will lie down, I will sleep, I will rise up, because you, Oh Lord, are my sustainer, my glory and the lifter of my head.… For "sleep" indicates death, concerning which the future is prophesied for us. It refers to the time of the life of the Savior, which when it was finished, prophecy came to an end; when, namely, the Son of man Christ descended even to hell and the Savior was clearly shown to the captives who were awaiting destruction; so as in the time of his resurrection from death many bodies of the saints who had been sleeping will live again with him, in whom was the likeness of the spirit of David.

When he foresees his deliverance after death, he has faith that he has been saved by grace and that kindness has been granted. He is certain that this faith of some in the resurrection of the Savior is able to come to him, and consequently he prays that the resurrection of the Lord be hastened so that through it he himself will experience salvation.… Now, he says, you have broken the teeth of sinners; that is, their conversations and blasphemous words hurled against me you have stripped away.

He predicts that there are going to be many thousands of adversaries who will wish to hinder the resurrection of the saints because they are jealous of their salvation: which ones I will regard as nothing, he said. I have trusted my defender, the victor over death, who, after the bronze gates were torn down and the iron bolts thoroughly broken, opened the gates of death that had been closed for ages, and with those people known to him, from which number was David, he prepared for the resurrection life.

It is shown in various statements and examples of holy Scripture that God has used domestic disputes, rebellion and multiple disasters in the punishment of sin. The purpose of David was to chastise and to edify life through the psalm, so that no one would do evil, or violate the law of God or experience what befalls a sinner. David was fleeing his son because he had acted unchastely; he was fleeing his son because he had violated purity in marriage; he was fleeing his son because he had departed from the law of God, which says, "You shall not kill; you shall not commit adultery." … Many today wage wars in their homes; one is opposed by his wife, another is besieged by his son; one is ruled by a brother, and another by a slave; and each one is in anguish and afflicted. He fights, wages war and is harassed by war, and no one can understand why. But if he had not planted the seeds of sin, it would have never happened that thorny plants and prickly bushes would grow up in his home; if he had not hidden the glare of his sins, his home would not burn.

It is also necessary to indicate the difference between the term diapsalma and the song of the diapsalma, or in short what their meaning is. While diapsalma means a change of tune and alteration of rhythm, then, and not a shift in thought, as some commentators believed, so does song of the diapsalma, since frequently singers changed the tunes according to the availability of instruments. So it indicates alternation in styles and rhythms, not change in ideas. It is, in fact, ridiculous to mention anything else, though some commentators have come up with extraordinary notions, like the Spirit coming on the author at one time and withdrawing at another, which did not happen—perish the thought. I mean, the Holy Spirit did not grant the authors the grace of addressing the text in the manner the demons do to those unaware of what they are saying; rather, he implanted in their mind complete understanding, and on receiving this knowledge they gave voice to it to the extent of their capability, not uttering what they did not understand in the manner of the seers but having complete knowledge of the force of their words. As I said, therefore, the occurrences of diapsalma and songs of diapsalma are changes in rhythms and styles, not alterations in ideas. The movement of thought also reveals this: after the reference diapsalma you never find the following thought in opposition to what precedes, being instead sequential and consistent. Hence it is clear that the occurrence midstream of diapsalma involved no interruption to the thought of the text, instead perhaps altering the rhythm in keeping with the norms of music and rhythm applying at the time.

When the great David served as interpreter for the Spirit, he related in his song the things that he had previously learned, and if he was taught something additional while he was speaking, he submitted to the Spirit who was making the hearing of his soul resound and stopped the music, and when he was filled with these thoughts he related these matters, again entwining the words with the melody. One who has comprehended the term in a definition might say, then, that diapsalma is a pause that occurs suddenly in the midst of the singing of a psalm in order to receive an additional thought that is being introduced from God. Or, one might rather define it as follows. diapsalma is a teaching from the Spirit that occurs in a mysterious manner in the soul, when the attention given to this new thought impedes the continuity of the song.… In the third psalm he spoke first about the distress and hardship that occurred when his enemies "rose up against" him. Then he separated that part with the diapsalma and put his trust in the one who was causing that sound of salvation to resound mysteriously in him and said, "But you, Lord, are my protector, my glory, and the lifter up of my head." Again, when he has stopped the music, saying, in accordance with that gracious voice that he has made his own, "I cried to the Lord with my voice, and he heard me from his holy mountain," he is taught what the solution is for the hardship that is common to human ills. And after he has been taught the mystery related to the passion of the Lord in the sudden illumination of the Spirit, he assumes the character of the Lord and says, "I lay down and slept, and I was raised, because the Lord will help me."

Since the psalm is spoken from the person of the Lord, it must be said that even the head of him who is lifted up is of God, since really his deity is made manifest to the faithful through external demonstration. The word head in this place indicates "chief." Christ, therefore, the chief of holy people, deservedly is their king, and it is his head that is lifted up.

What is the blessing to people who overcome unless it is the will of the Father concerning the coming of his Son into the world?

He who offers no grounds for hate and enmity may have enemies for no reason. Such are all who endure persecution because they live righteously for Jesus Christ. To these the Savior says, "Blessed are you when people revile you and when liars speak evil against you on account of me." This is what happened when David had many enemies for no reason such as Saul and Absalom and those who accompanied them. For they attacked without cause him who was a righteous man and had often shown them much goodness and gentleness.

The teeth of sinners are thoughts foreign to reason coming to us on account of our nature by which our enemies approach us, just like using their teeth time after time again to devour our flesh. That is, those [are] things that spring forth from the flesh: "Manifest are the works of the flesh," as the apostle says.

This psalm can pertain to David or to Christ, and through him to all the saints.

The strength of a stable spirit that is greatly tested in adversity must be considered because, since it possesses hope, even amidst the greatest anguish it does not yield. Those, I say, who mock me say such things to increase my grief. I will not stop hoping in what I have believed because you, Lord, help me as I labor. You guard my step from the danger of evil. You restore my honor and worth.

It is the greatest faith that allows no hesitation for seeking the help of God for himself and that approaches with confidence of his demand.

What is this blessing of the Lord? Without a doubt it is peace, just as Scripture says in many places: "Peace be over Israel." Through these words he wishes to show that in the place of blessing peace is conferred on the people.

In this verse the psalmist is not moved by his own trials to the point of despairing of the help of God, nor is he dissuaded from a position of faith by words of reproach. He, having learned by experience the fullness of previous help, cries out most confidently after the kindnesses of God toward him through which he is freed from all of the entangling of his troubles: "I will not fear ten thousands surrounding me."

"But You, O Lord, art my taker." It is said to God in the nature of man, for the taking of man is, the Word made Flesh. "My glory." Even He calls God his glory, whom the Word of God so took, that God became one with Him. Let the proud learn, who unwillingly hear, when it is said to them, "For what have you that you did not receive? Now if you received it, why do you glory as if you had not received it?" [1 Corinthians 4:7] "And the lifter up of my head" [Psalm 3:3]. I think that this should be here taken of the human mind, which is not unreasonably called the head of the soul; which so inhered in, and in a sort coalesced with, the supereminent excellency of the Word taking man, that it was not laid aside by so great humiliation of the Passion.

"With my voice have I cried unto the Lord" [Psalm 3:4]; that is, not with the voice of the body, which is drawn out with the sound of the reverberation of the air; but with the voice of the heart, which to men speaks not, but with God sounds as a cry. By this voice Susanna was heard; and with this voice the Lord Himself commanded that prayer should be made in closets, that is, in the recesses of the heart noiselessly. Nor would one easily say that prayer is not made with this voice, if no sound of words is uttered from the body; since even when in silence we pray within the heart, if thoughts interpose alien from the mind of one praying, it cannot yet be said, "With my voice have I cried unto the Lord." Nor is this rightly said, save when the soul alone, taking to itself nothing of the flesh, and nothing of the aims of the flesh, in prayer, speaks to God, where He only hears. But even this is called a cry by reason of the strength of its intention. "And He heard me out of His holy mountain." We have the Lord Himself called a mountain by the Prophet, as it is written, "The stone that was cut out without hands grew to the size of a mountain." But this cannot be taken of His Person, unless peradventure He would speak thus, out of myself, as of His holy mountain He heard me, when He dwelt in me, that is, in this very mountain. But it is more plain and unembarrassed, if we understand that God out of His justice heard. For it was just that He should raise again from the dead the Innocent who was slain, and to whom evil had been recompensed for good, and that He should render to the persecutor a meet reward, who repaid Him evil for good. For we read, "Thy justice is as the mountains of God."

The words, "I slept, and took rest; and rose, for the Lord will take me up," [Psalm 3:5] lead us to believe that this Psalm is to be understood as in the Person of Christ; for they sound more applicable to the Passion and Resurrection of our Lord, than to that history in which David's flight is described from the face of his rebellious son. And, since it is written of Christ's disciples, "The sons of the bridegroom fast not as long as the bridegroom is with them;" [Matthew 9:15] it is no wonder if by his undutiful son be here meant that undutiful disciple who betrayed Him. From whose face although it may be understood historically that He fled, when on his departure He withdrew with the rest to the mountain; yet in a spiritual sense, when the Son of God, that is the Power and Wisdom of God, abandoned the mind of Judas; when the Devil wholly occupied him; as it is written, "The Devil entered into his heart," [John 13:27] may it be well understood that Christ fled from his face; not that Christ gave place to the Devil, but that on Christ's departure the Devil took possession. Which departure, I suppose, is called a flight in this Psalm, because of its quickness; which is indicated also by the word of our Lord, saying, "That you do, do quickly." [John 13:27] So even in common conversation we say of anything that does not come to mind, it has fled from me; and of a man of much learning we say, nothing flies from him. Wherefore truth fled from the mind of Judas, when it ceased to enlighten him. But Absalom, as some interpret, in the Latin tongue signifies, Patris pax, a father's peace. And it may seem strange, whether in the history of the kings, when Absalom carried on war against his father; or in the history of the New Testament, when Judas was the betrayer of our Lord; how "father's peace" can be understood. But both in the former place they who read carefully, see that David in that war was at peace with his son, who even with sore grief lamented his death, saying, "O Absalom, my son, would God I had died for you!" [2 Samuel 18:33] And in the history of the New Testament by that so great and so wonderful forbearance of our Lord; in that He bore so long with him as if good, when He was not ignorant of his thoughts; in that He admitted him to the Supper in which He committed and delivered to His disciples the figure of His Body and Blood; finally, in that He received the kiss of peace at the very time of His betrayal; it is easily understood how Christ showed peace to His betrayer, although he was laid waste by the intestine war of so abominable a device. And therefore is Absalom called "father's peace," because his father had the peace, which he had not.

The prophetic psalms are by no means silent on the subject of [Christ's] resurrection.… What other meaning can be taken from these words in Psalm 3, sung in the person of Christ?… For, unless one sees in this sleep the death, and in this awaking the resurrection of Christ thus prophesied, one is reduced to the silly supposition that the prophet wished to communicate to us the really remarkable news that he himself fell asleep and later on woke up!

Do not let these words, where he says, "since the Lord took me up," strike your minds as meaning that Christ himself did not raise up his own body. The Father raised him up, and he also raised himself up. How shall we prove to you that he raised himself up? Call to mind what he said to the Jews: "Pull down this temple, and in three days I will raise it up."

"O Lord, how are they multiplied that trouble me!" [Psalm 3:1]. So multiplied indeed were they, that one even from the number of His disciples was not wanting, who was added to the number of His persecutors.

"Salvation is of the Lord; and upon Your people be Your blessing" [Psalm 3:8]. In one sentence the Psalmist has enjoined men what to believe, and has prayed for believers. For when it is said, "Salvation is of the Lord," the words are addressed to men. Nor does it follow, "And upon Your people" be "Your blessing," in such wise as that the whole is spoken to men, but there is a change into prayer addressed to God Himself, for the very people to whom it was said, "Salvation is of the Lord." What else then does he say but this? Let no man presume on himself, seeing that it is of the Lord to save from the death of sin; for, "Wretched man that I am, who shall deliver me from the body of this death? The grace of God through Jesus Christ our Lord." [Romans 7:24-25] But bless, O Lord, Your people, who look for salvation from You.

He who gives salvation is called "the salvation of the Lord," and he is likewise our salvation who received him.

So multiplied indeed were they, that one even from the number of His disciples was not wanting, who was added to the number of His persecutors. "Many rise up against me; many say unto my soul, There is no salvation for him in his God" [Psalm 3:2]. It is clear that if they had had any idea that He would rise again, assuredly they would not have slain Him. To this end are those speeches, "Let Him come down from the cross, if He be the Son of God;" and again, "He saved others, Himself He cannot save." Therefore, neither would Judas have betrayed Him, if he had not been of the number of those who despised Christ, saying, "There is no salvation for Him in His God."

"Arise, O Lord, save me, O my God" [Psalm 3:7]. It is not said to God, "Arise," as if asleep or lying down, but it is usual in holy Scripture to attribute to God what He does in us; not indeed universally, but where it can be done suitably; as when He is said to speak, when by His gift Prophets speak, and Apostles, or whatsoever messengers of the truth. Hence that text, "Would you have proof of Christ, who speaks in me?" [2 Corinthians 13:3] For he does not say, of Christ, by whose enlightening or order I speak; but he attributes at once the speaking itself to Him, by whose gift he spoke. "Since You have smitten all who oppose me without a cause." It is not to be pointed as if it were one sentence, "Arise, O Lord, save me, O my God; since You have smitten all who oppose me without a cause." For He did not therefore save Him, because He smote His enemies; but rather He being saved, He smote them. Therefore it belongs to what follows, so that the sense is this; "Since You have smitten all who oppose me without a cause, You have broken the teeth of the sinners;" that is, thereby have You broken the teeth of the sinners, since You have smitten all who oppose me. It is forsooth the punishment of the opposers, whereby their teeth have been broken, that is, the words of sinners rending with their cursing the Son of God, brought to nought, as it were to dust; so that we may understand "teeth" thus, as words of cursing. Of which teeth the Apostle speaks, "If you bite one another, take heed that you be not consumed one of another." [Galatians 5:15] The teeth of sinners can also be taken as the chiefs of sinners; by whose authority each one is cut off from the fellowship of godly livers, and as it were incorporated with evil livers. To these teeth are opposed the Church's teeth, by whose authority believers are cut off from the error of the Gentiles and various opinions, and are translated into that fellowship which is the body of Christ. With these teeth Peter was told to eat the animals when they had been killed, that is, by killing in the Gentiles what they were, and changing them into what he was himself. Of these teeth too of the Church it is said, "Your teeth are as a flock of shorn sheep, coming up from the bath, whereof every one bears twins, and there is not one barren among them." These are they who prescribe rightly, and as they prescribe, live; who do what is written, "Let your works shine before men, that they may bless your Father which is in heaven." [Matthew 5:16] For moved by their authority, they believe God who speaks and works through these men; and separated from the world, to which they were once conformed, they pass over into the members of the Church. And rightly therefore are they, through whom such things are done, called teeth like to shorn sheep; for they have laid aside the burdens of earthly cares, and coming up from the bath, from the washing away of the filth of the world by the Sacrament of Baptism, every one bears twins. For they fulfil the two commandments, of which it is said, "On these two commandments hang all the Law and the Prophets;" [Matthew 22:40] loving God with all their heart, and with all their soul, and with all their mind, and their neighbour as themselves. "There is not one barren among them," for much fruit they render unto God. According to this sense then it is to be thus understood, "You have broken the teeth of the sinners," that is, You have brought the chiefs of the sinners to nought, by smiting all who oppose Me without a cause. For the chiefs according to the Gospel history persecuted Him, while the lower people honoured Him.

"I will not fear the thousands of people that surround me" [Psalm 3:6]. It is written in the Gospels how great a multitude stood around Him as He was suffering, and on the cross.

Many, in fact, are the enemies of every kind who assail me from all sides, but more numerous are those who trouble me by their mockery and their claims that I am bereft of your providence. Yet I know that you would not persist in ignoring me, despite my many failings. On the contrary, you will raise up the one who now humbles himself for the sin he committed and make him appear stronger than his foes.… I have confidence neither in kingship nor in sovereignty; instead, I trust in you to be my glory, and I expect to be quickly raised up by your right hand.

The phrase "breaking the teeth of sinners," that is to say, depriving them of all strength, is by comparison with wild beasts, which when bereft of their teeth are quite undaunting and open to attack.

In a single sentence he both commands us what to believe and promises what we can receive from him.

It is not that God is awakened while sleeping or lying down for rest, but it is common for the divine Scriptures to express a matter through a metaphor, to say something about God using what is familiar to us.

He could not fear a death that he foreknew would last only three days and would benefit the world.

"But you." This is the second part, where he shows that help from God is prepared for him. And concerning this he does two things. First he shows that divine help is especially present to him. Second, that it is present generally to all, at "salvation is of the Lord." And concerning the first he proposes three things. First, divine help. Second, the experience of that help, at "with my voice." Third, the confidence of security, at "I will not fear." He says therefore, "but you, O Lord"; as if to say: these rise up to wage war, but you receive me under your protection. And this is better expressed through Jerome's text, which says: "my shield round about me," as though defending me like a shield. Not only preserving me in life against those who wish to destroy me, but also in glory against those who defame me; hence he says, "my glory." 2 Cor. 10: "He who glories, let him glory in the Lord." Jer. 9: "Let him who glories glory in this, that he knows and understands me." And not only do you stand by me against those who defame me, but you also make me prevail against those who oppress me; hence he adds: "lifting up my head." Ps. 26: "And now I have lifted up my head above my enemies." These can be referred to Christ, who was conceived according to His human nature in the incarnation, because "the Word was made flesh," Jn. 1. Is. 42: "Behold my servant, I will uphold him; my elect, my soul delights in him." Ps. 64: "Blessed is he whom you have chosen and taken up." He was also made glorious in the resurrection: Jn. 17: "Glorify me, O Father." And He was exalted in the ascension; Phil. 2: "Therefore God also," etc.

Then when he says, "with my voice," he shows the experience of help. And he sets forth three things: namely, prayer, at "with my voice." Second, being heard, at "and he heard me." Third, he shows in what he was heard, where he says, "I slept," etc. Concerning the first, he touches on two things that must be present in prayer: for it must be attentive. And so he says: "with my voice," namely the voice of the heart, which sounds to God -- with which Moses, though silent with his mouth, was crying out in his heart to the Lord. Ex. 14: "The Lord said: Why do you cry to me?" etc. With this voice too Susanna was heard when she cried out: Dan. 13: "She, weeping, looked up to heaven, for her heart had confidence in the Lord," etc. 1 Sam. 1: "Now Hannah was speaking in her heart," etc. 1 Cor. 14: "I will pray with the spirit, I will pray also with the mind." And so he says "my voice." For when a voice does not proceed from the heart, it is not mine. Likewise, prayer must be rightly directed; for it is rightly directed when it tends where it should. And so he says, "to the Lord," where help is. 2 Chr. 20: "When we do not know what to do, this alone remains for us, that we direct our eyes to you." Ps. 120: "My help is from the Lord." Likewise, it must be devout; hence he adds, "I cried out." For prayer is said to be clamorous on account of the greatness of the affection. Ps. 101: "Let my cry come to you," etc. Heb. 5: "With a strong cry and tears," etc. Then the hearing is set forth, when he says: "and he heard me from the mountain," that is, from the height of the divine majesty, which is inaccessible. Ps. 23: "Who shall ascend the mountain of the Lord?" -- that is, to His omnipotence. Or from the height of His justice, because it is incomprehensible: Ps. 35: "Your judgments are a great deep." Or "from the holy mountain," that is, from me who was a holy mountain, of which Is. 2 says: "And in the last days the mountain of the house of the Lord shall be prepared," etc.

There follows, "I slept." Here he shows in what he was heard -- because he rose. Now there is a difference between the dead and one sleeping: because the dead does not rise again. Job 14: "Do you think that a dead man shall live again?" But one sleeping does rise. Ps. 40: "Shall not he who sleeps rise up again?" Thus when tribulation is so great that a man does not return to his former state, it is called death. But when one who is troubled or tempted falls into sin and rises again, he is said to sleep. Thus David, as it were, slept, because he was freed from his son and from sin. He is said to sleep, as it were briefly; but to slumber deeply, as it were for a long time. Hence another reading says, "I took sleep," that is, I slept deeply. Thus Christ is said to have slept, because He willingly offered Himself to the Passion; and because He was in deep slumber, death followed. Hence from sleep He passed into deep slumber. This slumber is signified in the sleep of Adam. Gen. 2: "The Lord cast a deep sleep upon Adam," etc., because from the side of Christ dead on the cross the Church was formed. He says therefore, "and I rose up," namely by His own power. Jn. 10: "I have power to lay down my life, and I have power to take it up again." And this is because "the Lord received me." Another reading: "He sustained me." For He had the power of divinity, that He might rise. Ps. 36: "When the just man falls, he shall not be destroyed, because the Lord puts His hand underneath him."

The preceding Psalm showed the assault of adversaries; here, against their assault, he implores divine help. And this Psalm is composed in the manner of a prayer. In this Psalm we can lay down the historical foundation, then set forth the allegorical sense, and further the moral sense. The historical sense is clear from the title, which is: "when he fled from the face of Absalom his son." As is found in 2 Sam. 15, Absalom the son of David, pursuing his father, sought to kill him. David yielded before him with his followers, going out of Jerusalem with bare feet. He understood that this was happening to him because of the sin of murder and adultery, as Nathan the prophet had foretold to him: 2 Sam. 12: "The sword shall never depart from your house, because you have despised me." While Absalom was pursuing David, the army of David turned against him. Absalom, carried by the charge of his mule, was driven under a branching oak, where the intertwining branches caught his neck, and hanging there with his head caught fast, he was slain by Joab, the commander of David's army. With Absalom dead, David was restored to his kingdom and reigned in peace. Against this persecution, then, is this Psalm: "Lord, why," etc. Through this, however, was prefigured the persecution that Christ suffered from His son Judas. Jn. 13: "Little children, yet a little while I am with you." And again Mt. 9: "Can the children of the bridegroom mourn?" etc. Christ fled from Judas when, upon Judas's departure, He withdrew with the other apostles to the Mount of Olives as the Passion drew near. And just as David showed peace to his wicked son when he commanded the people going out to battle, "Spare the young man Absalom," and when he was killed, said, "Who will grant me that I might die for you, my son Absalom," etc., so too Christ toward Judas the traitor, as is clear in the supper and in the kiss. For this reason Absalom is rightly called "peace of the father." For "Abba" in Hebrew is interpreted in Latin as "father," and "Shalom" means "peace." And Judas himself betrayed Christ with a show of peace. And just as Absalom, so too Judas died by hanging. With Judas dead, Christ reigned in peace, because He rose in glory. And it can be applied to all the tribulations of the Church. It can also be applied morally against the tribulations that one suffers from enemies, whether temporal or spiritual. And therefore the sentiment of a man imploring help is expressed. Concerning this, then, he does two things. First he sets forth the assault of the adversaries, or he lays before God his torment. Second, he acknowledges that divine help is at hand, at "but you, O Lord," etc. He sets forth the persecution with regard to the number of those doing harm: "they are multiplied," namely peoples, nations, kings, and princes. And not only these outsiders, but even his son. Ps. 39: "They are multiplied above my head," etc. And with regard to the motive for doing harm, because it is without cause. Hence: "why?" 1 Sam. 10 and 26: "What have I done, or what evil is in my hand?" And with regard to the manifold torment, because they vex him with many tribulations. Hence: "they trouble me." A thistle is a prickly plant: Gen. 3: "Thorns and thistles shall it bring forth to you." Those therefore trouble who prick. They pricked Christ by striking Him with fists, scourging, spitting, mocking, and threatening death. And this is what he says: "many rise up," namely in deed. For Absalom wished to kill David, as is clear in the counsel of Hushai, 2 Sam. 17. Likewise Judas betrayed Christ to death.

Finally when he says, "of the Lord," he shows that divine help extends to the whole people. And first with regard to preservation from evil; and so he says, "salvation is of the Lord." And therefore prayer must be directed to God. Second, with regard to the multiplication of goods; and so he says: "upon your people be your blessing," that is, upon the people who hope in you and in you, and not in another, be your blessing. The blessing of the Lord always implies the multiplication of goods. Prov. 10: "The blessing of the Lord makes rich." This Psalm can also be read otherwise according to the Gloss, so that the whole Christ speaks, that is, the Church and her Head, situated amid the storms of persecution. Or morally, this Psalm can be read in the person of any individual believer who is assailed by vices and desires. And according to this, by David is understood any believer, and by Absalom vices and carnal concupiscences, as is clear in the Gloss.

They also trouble by words, detracting or proposing falsehoods; hence, "many say," etc. Against what is said in Ps. 36: "The salvation of the just is from the Lord." For if the wicked would consider this, they would not easily rise up against the just; but because they do not believe it, or because they despise the power of God or the justice of the man, they say by word and deed, "there is no salvation for him," etc., that is, in Him whom he worships and makes his God. This the persecutors also say of Christ: for if they had hoped He would rise, neither would Judas have betrayed Him, nor would they have killed Him. And the meaning is: He will not save him, nor is He the Son of God. Hence they said, Mt. 27: "If you are the Son of God, come down from the cross"; and below: "If he is the King of Israel, let him now come down from the cross, and we will believe him."

And whence he has this confidence he shows when he says, "arise," that is, manifest your power by making me rise from death. And this means, "save me," etc. "Because you have struck," etc. Above he had said two things: that they trouble him -- "Lord, why are they multiplied who trouble me" -- and against these he says: "because you have struck." Likewise they defamed him -- "there is no salvation for him," etc. -- and against these: "the teeth of sinners," that is, their malicious words, "you have brought to nothing." Job 29: "I broke the jaws of the wicked," etc. Jerome's text has, "you have struck the jaw and the teeth"; as if to say: you struck so powerfully that their teeth were broken. The jaw was Absalom, and the teeth were those adhering to him. Hence when Absalom was destroyed, the others were crushed.

Then when he says, "I will not fear," the confidence of security is set forth. As if to say: since I have been heard in this way, "I will not fear," etc. Below, Ps. 26: "Though armies should stand against me," etc. In this is signified that the Church of Christ cannot be wholly cast down. Even after the resurrection, the multitude of people who surrounded the crucified Christ could do Him no harm; for "Christ rising from the dead now dies no more," Rom. 6.