The Author [Denis] expounds it first
according to the historical sense concerning Christ and the Church; then
anagogically concerning the blessed, or "comprehensors" (those who have
attained the beatific vision).
Introductory Argument
Title: "A Psalm of David" or "A Song of David"
In this Psalm, the Prophet treats of the recognition of the benefits of Christ, by which we obtain mercy and eternal life. And it contains, in summary, three principal parts according to Nicholas of Gorran:
In the first part, four benefits are touched upon that look to the conferral of good;
In the second, two benefits regarding the removal of evil, at the words "For even if I should walk…";
In the third, four other benefits are recounted that pertain to the preservation of both the preceding goods and the removal of evils, at the words "You have prepared…"
Exposition of the Title
Finally, to the present Psalm is ascribed a title of this sort: "A Psalm of David" — that is, this Psalm is fitting to David and to those signified by him, namely, Christ and the Church, and to each of the truly faithful.
Therefore, expounding this Psalm first concerning the Church and each faithful soul, he speaks thus:
Literal Exposition of the Psalm
Ps 23:1 "The Lord,- whose care is for all, in this exile of pilgrimage-
"…has ruled me" — that is, He directs me toward eternal beatitude; He provides for me in things necessary both for mind and body; and He removes from me the impediments to attaining [that end]. He "rules" me because He makes me subject to His law and faith, and defends me from the dominion of demons and the slavery of sin.
He, therefore, who thus rules me — for this reason "nothing shall be wanting to me" — in the manner in which it is said below: "Fear the Lord, all you His saints, for nothing is wanting to those who fear Him" (Ps. 34:10). Not that, simply speaking, nothing is lacking to them (otherwise they would be perfectly blessed and would desire no other life), but nothing is lacking to them that is necessary for salvation, or that they ask of the Lord. Hence the Lord says in the Gospel: "Seek first the kingdom of God, and all these things shall be added unto you" (Matt. 6:33).
Moreover, nothing is lacking to him whom God rules by special providence, because the future goods which he does not yet possess in reality, he possesses in hope and in near disposition; indeed, he already has one foot in heaven. Thus, "nothing shall be wanting to me."
Ps 23:2 But where He adds: "In a place of pasture, there He has placed me" — He makes me a faithful and obedient member of the Church, so that by standing and persevering in ecclesiastical unity, I may enjoy the aforementioned pastures of the Church, by which faithful souls are spiritually fattened.
This, therefore, is the first benefit of grace: that God places a person already in the unity of the Church, which in Sacred Scripture is frequently called "the kingdom of God." For this reason the Apostle says: "Giving thanks to God and the Father, who has transferred us into the kingdom of the Son of His love" (Col. 1:12-13). And Peter: "That you may declare the virtues of Him who has called us out of darkness into His admirable light" (1 Pet. 2:9).
The Second Benefit
"He has led me forth beside the waters of refreshment" (Ps. 22:2).
That is, He has nurtured me with salutary instruction, so that I may discern between good and evil, advance in the virtues, and come to the perfection of spiritual growth.
The "water of refreshment" is divine doctrine, consoling, strengthening, and nourishing the mind, according to that word of Wisdom: "He will give him the water of saving wisdom to drink" (Sir. 15:3). And to the Romans: "For whatever things were written, were written for our instruction: that through patience and the comfort of the scriptures, we might have hope" (Rom. 15:4).
Upon this water, therefore, a person is led forth by God when, illuminated by the Holy Spirit — or by his own study, or by the teaching of another — he understands those things that pertain to interior progress, just as the Apostle admonishes: "Teaching and admonishing one another in psalms, hymns, and spiritual canticles, singing and making melody in your hearts to the Lord" (Eph. 5:19; Col. 3:16). And Isaiah says: "You shall draw waters with joy out of the Savior's fountains" (Isa. 12:3) — that is, the spiritual doctrines from the Gospels or instructions of Christ.
The Third Benefit
"He has converted my soul" (Ps. 22:3).
That is, by salutary instruction, He has enkindled my soul with divine love, which unites the created mind to its proper Creator; and this loving union is called the "conversion of the mind."
Thus, "my soul He has converted": from many things to the One; from disturbance to tranquility; from created and perishable things to the uncreated, immutable Good.
The Fourth Benefit
"He has led me on the paths of justice" (Ps. 22:3).
The "paths of justice" are works in accord with the divine precept. Thus, "He has led me upon the paths of justice" — that is, by His grace assisting and guiding, He has made me keep the divine precepts, fulfill the commandments of charity toward God and neighbor. And He has conferred this upon me, "not for my merits, but for His name's sake" — that is, on account of His own goodness and charity, for the glory of His name.
Just as Solomon says: "The Lord has made all things for Himself" (Prov. 16:4). Hence the Lord says: "Your destruction is from yourself, O Israel; your help is only in Me" (cf. Hos. 13:9). Therefore, let no one rejoice in himself; let no one glory in his own justice; but, as the Apostle says: "He who glories, let him glory in the Lord" (1 Cor. 1:31; 2 Cor. 10:17).
Note on the Beautiful Order
Observe, moreover, the most beautiful order here:
First, the soul is led "beside the waters of refreshment";
Second, it is "converted";
Third, it is led "upon the paths of justice."
For first it is necessary that the soul be illuminated to know; then, from the knowledge of truth, be inflamed toward the good; third, from love, tend toward rectitude of external conduct.
Special Application to the New Law
Moreover, these things may be explained especially concerning a person of the New Law, so that the sense is: "Beside the waters of refreshment" — that is, in the font of Baptism, spiritually regenerating and fostering a person with grace — "He has led me forth." From an imperfect, childish state, He has transferred me to a state of perfection.
"He has led me upon the paths of justice" — that is, He has given me to fulfill the evangelical counsels. And in this He has "led" me, because He Himself first fulfilled them, so that I might follow in His footsteps.
The Fifth Benefit
"For even if I should walk in the midst of the shadow of death, I will fear no evils" (Ps. 22:4).
That is, if I should be among great dangers that are so proximate to death as to be like a shadow in darkness, "I will fear no evils" — I will not fear to fall into the evil of fault, nor will I fear to suffer the evils of punishment — on account of the confidence of mind and strength of soul which He has given me.
Hence He adds: "for You are with me."
Such was the Apostle, saying: "I am certain that neither death, nor life, nor angels, nor any other creature shall be able to separate us from the charity of God" (Rom. 8:38-39). This is what is said through Jeremiah: "The Lord is with me as a mighty warrior" (Jer. 20:11). Therefore, those who persecute me shall fall and be weakened.
"Your rod and Your staff" — that is, Your paternal correction, "and Your staff" — that is, Your pious consolation — "these have comforted me" (Ps. 22:4). Because from such a vicissitude of Your visitations, I have conceived confidence, hoping that I belong to the number of Your sons, whom in the present life You test by the rod of present tribulation, and sustain by the staff of pious consolation.
Such a vicissitude also makes me know my own weakness and experience Your clemency. Let us rejoice, therefore, when we are shaken by adversities, because the Prophet says: "Blessed is the man whom the Lord reproves" (Job 5:17). And in the Apocalypse: "Those whom I love, I rebuke and chastise" (Rev. 3:19).
The Sixth Benefit
"You have prepared a table before me" (Ps. 22:5).
That is, the communion of the Body and Blood of Christ — "against those who afflict me" — that is, against all temptations of my soul. Or: "a table" — that is, divine Scripture, in which there are as many dishes as there are salutary senses contained in it.
The Seventh Benefit
"You have anointed my head with oil" (Ps. 22:5).
That is, You have filled my soul with spiritual joy.
The Eighth Benefit
"And my cup, which inebriates me" — that is, the Blood of Christ contained in the chalice of blessing, inflaming the mind with divine love and making it "drunk," so that it becomes forgetful of inferior things and thirsting for divine things — "is excellent" (Ps. 22:5). That is, very brilliant, holy, and noble; indeed, more can be said or believed [than can be expressed].
The Ninth Benefit
"And Your mercy shall follow me all the days of my life" (Ps. 22:6).
That is, the grace which has prevented me shall remain in me, nor shall I be abandoned by You until I attain to You, the Supreme Good, to be beatified. And this is a word of good hope.
The Final End
Moreover, all the aforementioned things, O Lord, You have bestowed upon me for this reason, which follows: "That I may dwell in the house of the Lord" (Ps. 22:6).
That is, that after the present misery, I may abide in the kingdom of heaven, which is Your house, concerning which it is written in the Gospel: "In My Father's house there are many mansions" (John 14:2). To this end, indeed, all the gifts and works of the present life ought to be referred: that I may dwell in Your house, not for a short or finite time, but "for length of days" — that is, in eternity.
Anagogical Exposition of the Same Psalm: Concerning Christ and the Blessed (Comprehensors)
Rulers rule travelers in one way, and comprehensors in another. For travelers are ruled by God in that they are directed toward beatitude not yet attained, or toward an end still distant. But comprehensors are ruled by God in that they are immovably preserved in the end already attained, or in beatitude.
Christ, therefore, as man — or as a comprehensor — each of the blessed may say in the first person, commemorating the benefits of God to the glory of the Creator:
"The Lord has ruled me" — because in nothing has He allowed me to err; "and nothing shall be wanting to me" — because I am eternally contented in God.
"In a place of pasture" — that is, in the super-celestial paradise of the most blessed will — "there He has placed me" among the angelic choirs. Or: "in a place of pasture" — that is, in the abundance of delights.
"Beside the waters of refreshment He has led me forth" — that is, by the clear vision, through the species, or by the beatific knowledge of the divine essence, He has nourished me; concerning which vision it is said below: "You shall make them drink of the torrent of Your pleasure" (Ps. 35:9). For that vision of God is the refreshment of all joys, containing the fullness of all delight; and with this vision the soul of Christ, from the beginning of His Incarnation, was filled most excellently.
"He has converted my soul" — that is, He has joined it to Himself in an unconvertible manner, confirming it in His love, so that it can desire nothing inordinately.
"He has led me upon the paths of justice for His name's sake" (Ps. 22:3).
The blessed in their first person attribute all to God, and give thanks for their salvation, saying among themselves: "You have led me upon the paths of justice when I was still pilgrimaging in the world, and You did not allow me to be deceived; but for Your name's sake, You brought me by a straight path from the way to the homeland."
"For even if I should walk in the midst of the shadow of death, I will fear no evils, for You are with me" (Ps. 22:4).
That this verse applies to the blessed is certain, because neither the evil of fault nor the evil of punishment can anyone fear among them. Indeed, the gift of fear remains in them, not, however, as to its act of fleeing evil, but insofar as its act is to reverence God.
"Your rod and Your staff, with which You visited me on the way, these have comforted me" (Ps. 22:4).
That is, they have advanced me to this celestial consolation. For the scourges inflicted for sins are signified by the name "rod"; they purify the soul so that it may become unible to the divine light. But the divine consolations mercifully infused by God in this life enkindle the soul to desire the perfect sweetness of the homeland.
The blessed, therefore, giving thanks to God in the first person, because He so corrected them in this life by scourges and so sweetly sustained them, say: "Your rod and Your staff, these have comforted me."
A Difficulty Regarding the Blessed
But it seems that this cannot apply to the state of beatitude, namely, that they should recall in the homeland those things which they suffered on the way, since it is written: "The former distresses are forgotten and shall not come into memory" (Isa. 65:16).
It must be replied that the saints in the homeland do recall the evils which they suffered on the way, insofar as such memory is for them a matter of joy, not insofar as the memory of fault or punishment is the occasion of any sadness. For even Christ in His most glorious body retained for Himself the signs of the five wounds, not only that on the day of judgment He might show the ungrateful what He suffered for them, but that the holy men in the homeland might eternally see what He endured for their salvation, and from this be inflamed with inestimable love and thanksgiving.
"You Have Prepared a Table Before Me" (Ps. 22:5)
This does not apply to the blessed, because no one afflicts them. But concerning Christ, according as He conversed in the world and was passible, it may be explained in a certain way as though He were still a traveler.
Christ therefore says to God: "You have prepared a table before me" — that is, with that bread You have always fed me, concerning which it is written in the Gospel: "Blessed is he who shall eat bread in the kingdom of God" (Luke 14:15). For that table which is now prepared for the blessed in the homeland, concerning which the Savior says: "I dispose to you a kingdom, that you may eat and drink at My table in My kingdom" (Luke 22:29-30) — that table, I say, was always prepared for the soul of Christ, because He always saw God through the species, as the blessed do.
Moreover, this "table" may be understood as beatitude itself, in which, as if constituted at a table, are all delights; for, as Boethius testifies, "Felicity is a state made perfect by the aggregation of all goods."
Concerning this table, therefore, Christ says to the Father: "You have prepared a table before me" — that is, for my soul You have furnished and bestowed perfect felicity — "against those who afflict me" — namely, the Jews. Indeed, this table so comforted and immovably established the soul of Christ that He did not fear His adversaries.
"You Have Anointed My Head with Oil" (Ps. 22:5)
That is, with perfect sweetness and most sweet beatitude, You have gladdened my mind. This applies to all comprehensors.
"And my cup, which inebriates me" — that is, the fountain of life, which gives me to drink unto satiety; or: the very savor of the eternal fountain, fully refreshing me — "is excellent" — that is, pre-eminently, in a manner incomprehensibly exceeding all sensible delight; "which no one knows except him who has experienced it" (cf. Rev. 2:17).
"And Your Mercy Shall Follow Me" (Ps. 22:6)
That is, the light of glory, which is consummated grace and celestial beatitude — which is eternal life — shall mercifully and beyond all deserving persevere in me without end, so that I may be secure of the eternity of beatitude.
"That I may dwell in the house of the Lord" (Ps. 22:6).
That is, in the empyrean heaven, which is the place of beatific contemplation — "for length of days" — that is, for infinite ages, or in the "aevum," which is the measure of the duration of the blessed, comprehending infinite days as though they were finite.
Conclusion
Behold, in this Psalm, brief in words but not brief in virtues, the God-formed Prophet has commemorated many, great, and principal benefits of God. Therefore, it is fitting that we sing this Psalm all the more cordially, joyfully, and devoutly, in proportion as we are more ardently obliged to love so great a Benefactor, and to consider more diligently, magnify, and love His most pious and most liberal gifts.
And indeed, whoever attentively pronounces this Psalm, by proclaiming it, can be vehemently inflamed in the love of God.
CONTINUE
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