Ps 27:1 The Lord is my light and my salvation; whom shall I fear? The Lord is the protector of my life; of whom shall I be afraid?
The heading of this psalm appears in Hebrew as being David’s, sometimes with some additional words found in certain Bibles, though in others it is lacking. At the end of the psalm of David there is found in some manuscripts an addition, but whether this was added by some later writer is doubtful. Jerome says in the prologue to the book that David composed this psalm after Saul’s death, when he was anointed king, and thus it can be understood historically of David’s victory and elevation. And so some Hebrews and also Catholic writers hold that David made this psalm after he had obtained the kingdom, when he was being moved from a lesser to a greater dignity, so that he might govern and rule the people entrusted to him. And David, devoting himself, prepared to receive that grace, and therefore he composed this psalm, in which he does three things.
First, he asks for constancy against those who oppose him. Second, he asks for grace in order diligently to enlarge divine worship. Third, he asks for perseverance so that he may attain what has been said to the end. And thus both Hebrews and certain Catholics expound this psalm literally of David according to the aforesaid meaning.
Nevertheless, the literal sense of this psalm can also be applied in another way according to what has been said, and such a literal exposition does not invalidate the prophetic intention, since David was no less a prophet in this psalm than in others. For it must be noted that David, while he was often wavering under the persecution of Saul, frequently vowed in his heart that if he were delivered from that persecution and exalted to the kingdom, he would build the temple and promote divine worship with fitting splendor. And after he had obtained the kingdom, immediately after Saul’s death, he decreed to fulfill his vow by building the temple; but since this was forbidden to him, a promise was made to him concerning the building of the temple, that is, of the Church. Therefore, in contemplation of that promise, many revelations were made to him concerning the course and progress of the Church. Among these revelations he saw in the Spirit how, after the redemption and liberation of the human race, the Church herself would suffer many afflictions and persecutions from emperors and tyrants, but finally, through the conversion of Constantine, she would be freed and exalted above all the kingdoms of the world, and would have the liberty to build churches throughout all parts of the world, which kings and emperors would adorn with many riches, venerate, and enlarge divine worship.
Therefore David, foreseeing this in the Spirit, first, as a mystical man, gives thanks to God for having been liberated, not only from the slavery of the devil, but also from the persecution of tyrants and unbelievers. Second, he desires to fulfill his longing for the Church to be built, for divine worship to be enlarged, and for churches to be constructed and repaired in the time of Constantine. Third, he asks to persevere and be preserved in such divine worship through divine help.
Thus there is here one petition and one thanksgiving. The Church therefore says: I have suffered many evils from the beginning, from the time of the Law and the Prophets, and also from the devil, while awaiting the promised Redeemer. But now, after my Redeemer has come in the flesh, he has given me light to understand the Scriptures and has given me ecclesiastical sacraments to blot out sins. And therefore Christ (Christus) is my light (illuminatio mea), removing all ignorance and blindness, and he is my salvation (salus mea), removing all weakness. The Lord Christ is the protector of my life (protector vitae meae) in the persecution of tyrants, to repel their assaults; of whom shall I be afraid? For, armed with such gifts of the Holy Spirit and sacraments, I fear no one. Rather, while my enemies, tyrants, wicked men wishing to devour me, draw near and seek to eat my flesh, they themselves have been weakened and have fallen, overcome. And the prophet says this because of Diocletian, Maximian, and other tyrants who wished to destroy us and compel martyrs to worship idols. But when Christians refused, the tyrants applied intolerable torments and even gave the martyrs to lions and other beasts to be devoured. Yet finally all those tyrants perished by an evil death, while the Church prevailed, and the whole Gentile world was converted to the faith after the conversion of Constantine, as is clear throughout the course of ecclesiastical history.
Ps 27:2 Therefore the mystical man says: “When the wicked draw near against me to eat my flesh, those who trouble me, my enemies, they themselves have been weakened and have fallen.” When the wicked approached and brought in savage beasts to devour my flesh because I did not wish to deny Christ, they themselves were weakened and overcome, defeated, and fell from their dignity and pride. Nero and Domitian killed themselves; Maxentius, Diocletian, and Maximian fell and perished by a miserable death. And all other Gentile rulers fell from their pride and were subjected to the yoke of faith. Likewise the Jews, crucifiers of Christ and persecutors of the apostles, fell from kingdom and priesthood; their city was destroyed and the temple burned by the Romans. Thus those who had previously been proud and filled with worldly riches were weakened, diminished, given over to contempt and abomination, and scattered throughout the world in subjection and captivity.
Therefore the mystical man says: The Lord Jesus Christ was my light, giving me the evangelical law, removing all ignorance, blotting out all sin; he was my protector, liberating me from the captivity of the devil; he was my helper against the power of tyrants and kings and emperors, and he put them to flight.
Ps 27:3 “Though camps should stand against me, my heart shall not fear; though battle should rise up against me, in this I will hope.” If camps of demons and all enemies of the Church stand against me, my heart will not fear. And if every battle should rise up against me—heretics, Saracens, tyrants, and others of the wicked—I will not fear them, because in this my Redeemer I will hope and trust. For just as he has freed me from the power of the devil and from the dreadful persecution of tyrants and emperors who raged throughout the world, and subjected them to the faith, so also by his help, grace, and strength he will free me from whatever future persecution, and thus I will fear no one.
Ps 27:4 “One thing I have asked of the Lord, this will I seek: that I may dwell in the house of the Lord all the days of my life.” In this second part the mystical man asks to persevere in divine worship after liberation from the slavery of the devil, the Passion of Christ, and deliverance from the persecution of tyrants, through grace and help. He says in effect: after I have been enlightened and freed through the Passion of my Lord Jesus Christ, and delivered from the persecution of tyrants, and have subdued them by divine help, now I intend and desire to rest and be occupied in divine worship and contemplation, to increase divine worship and to build churches. And therefore I have asked one grace and one petition of the Lord, and this I will always seek and in this petition I will persevere, namely, that I may dwell in the house of the Lord, that is, in the Church, all the days of my life. This Church Christ has established, in which alone God is truly adored and truly seen. Therefore I desire to dwell in it, “that I may behold the will of the Lord and visit his temple.” For in this Church alone the will of the Lord is declared, namely the evangelical law; and in this Church alone the faithful are saved through ecclesiastical sacraments. For outside this Church of Christ there is no salvation, no medicine, no reward, no merit.
Ps 27:5 For my Lord Jesus Christ, when he called me to the faith and regenerated me by baptismal grace, hid me in his tabernacle in the day of evils; he protected me in the hidden place of his tabernacle. He surrounded me and hid me within the walls of the Church, which are hope, faith, and charity; and he protected me in the hidden place of his tabernacle in the day of evils, that is, in the time of persecutions. Thus Christ protects his faithful in a threefold “day of evils” in the hidden place and bosom of his tabernacle: first, in the day of original sin, when through baptism he introduces them into the Church, liberating them from the power of the devil; second, in the day of mortal sins, when through penance he reconciles them, and also when through confirmation he arms them with the gifts of the Holy Spirit against the assaults of demons; third, he will protect them in the day of evils, namely in the day of judgment, because all and only those who are found in the bosom of the Church will be saved, while the others, found outside the bosom of the Church, will be destined for eternal fire. Christ also protects the Church in times of evil and persecution by tyrants.
Ps 27:5 cont. Ps 27:6 Therefore the mystical man gives thanks to Christ, because he protects him in the tabernacle of the Church in this threefold day of evils, that is, from a threefold danger: entrance into this world, progress through it, and departure from it. And therefore he adds: “Upon a rock he has exalted me; and now he has lifted up my head above my enemies.” I am bound to give thanks to God, because upon the rock, who is Christ (petra… Christus), he has exalted me, founded me, made me worthy, making me a member of Christ and granting me the name of Christian, which is a name above every name. Thus he has exalted my head, my name, my dignity, and my honor above all my enemies, because he has not only made me their equal, but has subjected them all to me. And therefore, giving thanks, “I went around and offered in his tabernacle a sacrifice of jubilation; I will sing and chant a psalm to the Lord.” I have gone around the Church spread throughout the whole world, and I will sing to my Christ a sacrifice of jubilation, that is, I will offer to God the Father the sacrifice of the Eucharist with a shout and confession of praise; and I will sing and chant a psalm to the Lord in praise and honor of him for all the benefits received.
Thus I will establish and celebrate feast days in the Church in memory of the Incarnation, Nativity, Passion, Resurrection, and Ascension of my Lord Jesus Christ, and to each feast I will dedicate and sing proper offices in which the aforesaid mysteries and the benefits bestowed on me will be explained, and I will offer the Eucharistic sacrifice which in the Old Law had been prefigured. All these things were fulfilled after the conversion of Constantine, as has been said often, who built and enlarged the Church and divine worship throughout the whole world.
Ps 27:7-8 “Hear, O Lord, my voice with which I cry to you; have mercy on me and hear me. My heart has said to you, ‘My face has sought you; your face, O Lord, will I seek.’” In this third part he asks that the Church be preserved and persevere in divine worship through the help of grace. Hence he says: Hear, O Lord, my voice with which I cry to you, and have mercy on me in preserving the prosperity that has been bestowed, and hear me, because I always ask in my prayers that you convert sinners so that they may progress, and that you preserve those who progress so that they may be perfected, and that you free the whole Church from enemies so that she may serve you in peace and quiet. Therefore my heart has always said this to you in prayer, and my “face,” that is, my conscience, has always sought you; and thus I will always seek your face, that you may show me the help of your mercy.
Ps 27:9 Therefore I beg: “Do not turn your face away from me; do not decline in anger from your servant.” Do not turn your face, that is, your grace and help, away from me, and do not reject me in anger because of some sin committed. Grant me grace so that I may return to you through prevenient grace, remain through cooperating grace, and be perfected through completing grace. “Be my helper; do not abandon me; do not despise me, O God my Savior.” Be my helper and do not abandon me, because if you abandon me by withdrawing or denying grace, then I will fall and be plunged into every evil. Therefore you, who are my saving God, my Redeemer, do not abandon me, because I have no other redeemer or helper.
Ps 27:10 “For my father and my mother have forsaken me, but the Lord has taken me up.” My father Adam and my mother Eve, and even my parents who begot me, left me naked and stripped of gratuitous goods, wounded and injured, because I was conceived in iniquities and my mother conceived me in sins. Thus I was left under the power of the devil, a captive and sold; but you, my Lord Jesus Christ, freed me, redeemed me, raised me up by the adoption of sons, made me his own through his Passion, and regenerated me by baptism. Likewise my father, the Gentile people, and my mother, the synagogue, abandoned me; but Christ gathered me from both peoples into one Church. Thus Christ himself has become my head and I his members.
Ps 27:11 Therefore the mystical man, turning again to prayer, says: O Lord, since you have already freed me and raised me up from the power of the devil and from the persecution of tyrants, “set before me your law, O Lord, in your way, and guide me in the right path because of my enemies.” Set your law before me in your way, and give me grace so that I may keep your law, for without your grace no one can avoid evil or do good. Therefore guide me in the straight path of your evangelical doctrine, lest I stray from your law or depart from your will. Do this because of my enemies, both visible and invisible, who try to turn me away from your law; therefore give me grace so that I may repel their assaults.
Ps 27:12 “And do not hand me over to the souls of those who afflict me, for false witnesses have risen up against me, and iniquity has lied to itself.” Do not hand me over, that is, do not abandon me to the desires of my enemies who afflict me, for false witnesses have risen up against me, first against my head Christ, by imposing false crimes, and second against his members, saying that they practice magic and necromancy, as is read in ecclesiastical history and in the histories of the holy martyrs, especially the virgin martyrs. Iniquity has lied to itself, because the truth prevailed and iniquity vanished.
Ps 27:13 And so the mystical man says: although unjust men rose up against me, imposing false crimes, I bore reproaches patiently, mindful of the promise and doctrine of my teacher Christ, who said: “Blessed are you when men revile you and persecute you and speak all evil against you falsely for my sake. Rejoice and be glad, for your reward is great in heaven.” Because of this promise, since I believe that I shall see the good things of the Lord in the land of the living, my Redeemer Jesus Christ, I patiently endured reproaches and the aforesaid torments inflicted on me and the false accusations laid against me.
Ps 27:14 “Wait for the Lord; act manfully; let your heart be strengthened, and wait for the Lord.” In this last verse the prophet David, concluding, exhorts and encourages himself and all the faithful to endure all persecutions for Christ and for the truth, placing hope and trust in him in all tribulations. As if he were saying: O faithful one, waiting for Jesus Christ, consider this and place your trust and hope in him in all tribulations, as I have done; act bravely, enduring and defending the Christian faith and truth, and let your heart be strengthened against tyrants and enemies; do not fail, but wait for the Lord and put your hope in him, because he will deliver you as he delivered me. Yet do not trust or rely on your own strength or your own justice, but ask wholly for grace.
This psalm can also be expounded morally of any penitent soul, who gives thanks that through penance he has been enlightened and freed from sin, and who asks for grace so that he may be saved within the bosom of the Church and be preserved and strengthened in good works. It can also be expounded of anyone afflicted by tribulations, who asks to be enlightened and freed. It can also be expounded of the faithful departed in purgatory, who give thanks that they have left this world through penance and have been freed from guilt, and who ask to be freed through the suffrages of the Church and to see the good things of the Lord in the land of the living, that is, in heavenly glory, once liberated from those punishments. Therefore the Church sings this psalm in the Office of the Dead. And any one of the faithful can also say this psalm daily, asking that the grace which he received once in baptism or through penance may be preserved in him.
CONTINUE
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