Juan de Maldonado:
The argument of the Psalm is that the end of the wicked is evil, while the end of the good is good [Job chapter 15:27 & 5; 20:5; 21:17; Psalm 36; Wisdom chapter 4, verse 4]. Moreover, David—or whoever collected the Psalms into five books—begins the moral treatment of the Psalms with an explanation of the ultimate end, just as the philosophers did in their ethical disputations, and as Christ Himself did in His first sermon [Matthew chapter 5]: "Blessed are the poor in spirit." David wisely contrasts the end with the beginning, which he calls "the way."
"Blessed is the man" [Hebrew: "Beatitudes of the man"] "who has not walked..." —as if this were the title of the Psalm, extending to those words: "And he shall be like a tree," just as Isaiah chapter 1: "The vision of Isaiah the prophet"; Matthew chapter 1: "The book of the generation of Jesus Christ"; and Revelation chapter 1: "The Apocalypse of Jesus Christ." However, the title is connected with the Psalm by the conjunction "and," as is customary among the Hebrews [1 Samuel; Matthew chapter 1]; indeed, even Cicero does this [Book 1, Letter 11].
"Who has not walked in the counsel of the ungodly": that is, who has not entered into the counsel of the ungodly, or who has not followed the counsel of the ungodly—that is, what the wicked follow, not what they prescribe.
"And has not stood in the way of sinners": that is, he has not conducted himself according to the manner of life of sinners.
"And has not sat in the seat of the scornful" [Hebrew: "of mockers"], such as atheists and heretics, who, casting aside shame, call impiety wisdom and religion foolishness.
Moreover, these three clauses contain a growing gradation—or a repetition of the same thing—customary among the Hebrews [Proverbs chapters 21, 24, and frequently elsewhere].
Verse 2: "But his delight is in the law of the Lord...": rather, he takes pleasure in the law of the Lord, as Proverbs chapter 11, verse 20: "A perverse heart is an abomination to the Lord, and His will is in those who walk uprightly"; and Isaiah chapter 62, verse 4: "You shall no longer be called 'Forsaken,' nor shall your land be called 'Desolate' anymore; but you shall be called 'My delight is in her'"; and Malachi chapter 1, verse 10: "I have no pleasure in you," says the Lord.
Verse 3: "Whatever he does shall prosper": not the tree, but the man. "All things work together for good to those who love God" [Romans chapter 8, verse 28].
Verse 5: "Therefore the wicked shall not rise": that is, they shall not stand "in judgment": that is, they will not be able to stand unafraid before the Judge, with their conscience accusing them, as Luke chapter 21, verse 36: "That you may be counted worthy to stand before the Son of Man"; and Revelation chapter 6, verse 17: "For the great day of His wrath has come, and who is able to stand?" Alternatively, "to rise in judgment" means that after having been judged, they are elevated to the rank of the righteous—that is, to eternal life, which Saint John calls the "second resurrection" [Revelation chapter 20, verse 6]; and Saint Paul [Philippians chapter 3, verse 11]: "If by any means I may attain to the resurrection from the dead."
Verse 6: "For the Lord knows the way...": that is, the wicked will not be able to rise with the righteous, having deceived the Judge. "For the Lord knows..." Moreover, to be known by God is the same as to be saved, just as to perish is the same as not to be known by God [Matthew chapter 7, verse 23]: "I never knew you; depart from Me, you who practice lawlessness."
Emmanuel Sa:
Verse 1: Description of the pious and the impious.
"Has walked": that is, has gone about. These past tenses could also be rendered in the present: that is, "walks," "stands," "sits."
"In counsel": as if to say, who has not followed the counsels.
"In the way": that is, in the manner of life or customs.
"Has stood": that is, has lingered.
"In the seat": that is, in the assembly [Chaldean: "in the society"].
"Of the scornful": that is, of contagious doctrine [Chaldean and Jerome: "of mockers"].
"Has sat": thus Psalm 25: "I have not sat with vain counselors," etc. Note that here are signified the steps by which one arrives at the height of impiety: namely, by going, standing, sitting, etc. Otherwise, it would have had to be said: "He has not sat, nor stood, nor walked."
Verse 2: "His delight": that is, his affection, his pleasure.
"Day and night": that is, always.
Verse 3: "Tree": that is, a fruit-bearing tree. "Its leaf shall not wither": this refers to the olive and the palm.
Verse 4: "Not so": that is, they shall not be.
Verse 5: "Therefore": that is, because they are dissimilar in life and merit.
"Shall rise": that is, they shall stand; as if to say, they will not be able to defend themselves [Hebrew: "they shall stand"].
"In judgment": that is, in the final judgment; or connect with "of the righteous."
"Nor sinners": [Hebrew: "sinners"], but the preceding negation must be repeated.
"In the assembly": that is, in the gathering [Chaldean: "in the society"].
Verse 6: "Knows": that is, approves.
"The way": that is, the pursuits, the manner of life.
"Shall perish": that is, shall be condemned by God, or reduced to nothing.
Estius:
Verse 3: "And its leaf shall not wither, and whatever he does shall prosper."
Note: The first part coheres with what precedes and is understood as referring to the tree—for the comparison of the fruit-bearing tree with the righteous man, who meditates on the law of the Lord day and night, still continues. However, in the latter clause, where it says "and whatever he does," understand that whatever the righteous man does—who has been compared to the fruit-bearing tree—those things will altogether be prosperous and will attain a happy outcome and end.
Verse 5: "Therefore the wicked shall not rise in judgment, nor sinners in the assembly of the righteous."
The Sixtine edition correctly establishes that "shall rise" should be read in the future tense. For so have the Seventy Interpreters [the Septuagint], from whom our present version is immediately derived, since we have the other books of the Old Testament translated from the Hebrew by Saint Jerome. And although Jerome also translated the Psalms from the Hebrew, nevertheless the Church does not use his version, but the version of the Seventy. The reason for this seems to be none other than that, in Jerome's time, the Psalms were so frequently used in the Church—whether in the prayers of monks or otherwise in ecclesiastical usage—that the interpretation which was then in everyone's hands and on everyone's lips could not be changed. And hence it is that we still read the Psalms according to the Seventy.
With regard to this verse, not only the Seventy, but also the Hebrew and the more correct Latin manuscripts have the future tense "shall rise." But you may ask: How does it deny that the wicked will rise in judgment, since the Gospel testifies [Matthew chapter 25] that all will rise, both evil and good? To this, a twofold answer is given.
In one way, so that it is understood "in the judgment of the righteous," in the manner in which it is immediately added: "nor sinners in the assembly of the righteous"; and the sense is: They will not receive the judgment of the righteous.
In another way, so that "to rise" means "to stand" and "to hold firm"; and the sense will be: The wicked will not stand nor hold firm in judgment, because the sentence of the Judge will condemn them. Moreover, he "holds firm in judgment" who wins his case, and who is declared innocent—and much more so, he to whom a reward is decreed by the judge. Thus "to stand" is understood in Luke chapter 21, where it is said: "Pray that you may be counted worthy to stand before the Son of Man"; and Psalm 139 [140]: "In misfortunes they shall not stand firm," where the Hebrew has the same verb as in this place. Moreover, it is shown there how the wicked shall not stand firm in misfortunes: namely, because coals shall fall upon them, etc.
John Marianus:
For cathedra [seat], Aquila and Theodotion placed συνέδριον [synedrion], that is, "a council" or "assembly." For pestilentiae [of the scornful], the Hebrew is mockers, and so Jerome translated it. There are in cities idle men who, sitting at the crossroads, mock others and slander them indiscriminately.
In the Psalms, the first Psalm is without a title; what the Greek has as a title is an addition. This is the Prologue of the entire work, composed by Ezra himself, the collector of the Psalms, not by David, as some suppose.
"Blessed is the man" [Hebrew: "Beatitudes"].
Verse 1: "Blessed": [Hebrew] of the man, that is, "blessed is the man." The Hebrew word Ashrei is plural in number and is not found in the singular. It denotes that the blessedness of this life consists not in one thing, but in many. Aristotle added to the goods of the soul also the goods of the body, and to both, the goods of fortune.
"Man": Under the name "man," women are also included. In blessedness, sex is not distinguished. A reward is proposed so that it may inflame us to the observance of God's law. At the same time, it teaches that blessedness falls to the righteous alone.
"Who has not walked in the counsel of the ungodly": that is, who has had no commerce with them, has not followed their counsels. He is not speaking of internal sin, but of that which proceeds into action.
"And has not stood in the way of sinners": as if to say, if perhaps he has walked [in it], he has not persevered in evil.
"And has not sat in the seat of the scornful": For he who desires to be blessed ought not to sit among them. Therefore, arguing from the lesser to the greater: blessed is he who has not walked in the counsel of the wicked; or, if he has sometimes walked [in it], he has not long persisted in that way; and if he has persisted, certainly he has not sat among mockers—now no longer harming only himself, but also offending others indiscriminately, which is the highest degree of wickedness.
Verse 2: "But in the law of the Lord": It is not enough to avoid evil, which he set forth in the preceding verse, but it is also necessary to embrace the good and to adhere to the law.
"His delight": He did not say "his hand," but "his delight," so that what we do, we may do willingly, not out of fear—which is not a good teacher of duty. What we will, we accomplish without difficulty, and in it we persevere for a long time; but the opposite is true when we act unwillingly.
"And on His law he shall meditate": We always meditate on those things which we desire; therefore, after "delight," he placed "meditation."
"Day and night": that is, repeatedly. Just as one ought always to eat—namely, at appointed times—so the righteous man has designated times for meditation by day and by night. And this is what it means to meditate "always," that is, "day and night."
Verse 3: "And he shall be like a tree": that is, like a fruit-bearing tree.
"By the rivers of water": that is, beside the courses [Hebrew: "upon," "beside the divisions"] of waters. By these we understand either the channels into which a river is divided, or the strips of land which are watered on both sides by those channels, and are therefore more fertile.
And indeed, in this verse he sets forth the fruit which the righteous man will obtain if he does those things which have been said above.
"In its season": that is, at the proper time, in summer—for it will not do this at every time.
"And its leaf shall not wither": By "fruit," understand good works; by "leaves," good words. "Shall not wither," that is, shall not fall off, shall not dry up—for the Hebrew word also signifies this. Supply: "in its season," for what has been said once ought to be understood as repeated. For in winter it will be stripped of its leaves, but at the proper time it will be adorned with them.
"Shall prosper": [Hebrew] "and whatever he does, it shall prosper," that is, he will bring it to a happy conclusion; he will accomplish it—namely, the righteous man, whom you understand by the tree. Everything that shoots up into a stalk is called, by Hebrew idiom, a "tree," though it is not an arboreal tree.
Verse 4: "Not so the wicked, not so": The latter "not so" is not in the Hebrew, but is added by the Seventy.
"But like chaff": [Hebrew] "like the husk," light straw which is lifted up on the threshing floor when the grain is winnowed.
"Which the wind drives away from the face of the earth": This is not in the Hebrew; the Seventy added it. By a new comparison, he declares how great evils follow the wicked.
Verse 5: "Therefore the wicked shall not rise": [Hebrew] "shall not stand."
"In judgment": that is, in the final judgment, or in affliction. When God winnows the grain in the threshing floor—which is the Church—the wicked, like chaff, will be carried away by the wind and will not stand mixed with the grain.
"Nor sinners in the assembly": thus the Roman and Hebrew [texts]; not "in the counsel," as most manuscripts have. The Seventy: ἐν βουλῇ ["in counsel"]. Although "counsel" can also be taken for "council" and "assembly of advisors." Jerome said "in the congregation." Therefore, the wicked will not stand firm with the righteous; or rather, just as the righteous are gathered together, so the wicked will be scattered into various parts.
Verse 6: "For the Lord knows": that is, He favors, He embraces the pursuits of the righteous, He rejects those of the wicked. These pursuits are "the way," that journey—and no other.
Thomas Malvenda:
Verse 1: "Blessed is the man" [Hebrew: Ashrei]: "Beatitudes are his," that is, he is blessed in many ways; most blessed and most happy is that man. The plural number intensifies the meaning, or it may signify that both beatitudes will befall him: of this age and of the future.
Most take ashrei as a particle: "Happily, well, prosperously, excellently is it with that man," etc. Or exclamatively: "O how happy, how well, how prosperously, how excellently it is with that man!" etc. See Notes on Deuteronomy 29:29 & 1 Kings 10:8.
Gagnaeus: "O thrice blessed and thrice happy man."
Montanus: "But he is happy in countless ways, blessed by manifold fortune and perhaps happier."
They note that Jeremiah chapter 17, verse 7 explains this place: "Blessed is the man who trusts in the Lord," etc.
Others explain it as "The uprightnesses of the man" or "That man is most upright."
"Who has not walked in the counsel of the ungodly," etc. Some render: "Who does not walk in the counsel of the wicked, does not persist in the way of sinners, and does not sit in the assembly of mockers." They hold that in this verse there are three climaxes or steps relating to persons, to modes/forms, and to the actions of persons. Among persons, they reckon the wicked in mind, sinners in life, and mockers firm in both in every way. The forms are: counsel of the mind, way of life or conduct, and assembly denoting a settled state. The actions are: walking toward a certain end (which is to persist in counsel), following a path once counsel is taken, and sitting and resting obstinately in evil counsel and actions, when a man is carried away by his own malice or led by another's. However, from the genuine meaning of the Hebrew words, others more rightly feel it is not a gradation but a simple abundance and accumulation of expressions for greater emphasis and depth of meaning.
"Of the ungodly" [reshaim] properly means the unjust, wicked, restless, seditious, troublemakers. See Notes on Genesis 18:23.
"And in the way": that is, in the manner of life, pursuits, endeavors, conduct, actions, etc. Thus below verse 6. Some [understand it] in doctrine, religion, sect.
"Of sinners" [chattaim] means those who err, transgress. Here some understand those who have already contracted the habit of sinning, who do not act wickedly by chance or through imprudence, but willingly and deliberately, whom it no longer shames to sin with a brazen face. They interpret them as shameless, criminal, or hardened, such as the Sodomites are called [Genesis 13:13] and the Amalekites [1 Samuel 15:18], and in the Gospels "sinners" not rarely. But certainly the word has a wider sense. Buchanan: "He has not held to the path of error."
"And has not sat in the seat of the scornful." The Hebrew is variously rendered: I. And in the habitation of mockers he has not dwelt, or in the dwelling/company of deceivers he has not remained. II. Nor has he sat in the assembly of the perverse. III. Most agree with ours: And in the seat of mockers he has not sat. Thus it is often read concerning teachers, even in the New Testament. Mockers [letzim] properly are scoffers, deceivers, deluders, impostors who interpret word or deed otherwise; cunning cavillers, sophists. Here I would understand teachers, authors, and founders of wicked doctrines, false prophets who interpret the Word of God and Holy Scripture perversely. Others wish it to be understood as the arrogant, proud, vain triflers who mock and despise everything. Some [as] sycophants, detractors, backbiters, etc.
They note it to be another description of the good, as if joined to the former by way of correction, as if to say: Blessed is he who abstains from evil if he pursues the good, that is, if with a true, living, and ardent faith he turns his mind to obey God, conforming his thoughts, words, and works to [Psalm 33:15 & 36:27].
"In the law of the Lord": that is, in the doctrine of God concerning faith and works, which alone is the rule of all good.
"His delight/will" [chephtzo]: will, good pleasure, affection, study, desire, acceptance, pleasure, delight, complacency, business, his pursuit.
"He shall meditate" [yehgeh]: properly he shall murmur, mutter, meditate, converse, commune, ponder, be intent, exercise himself. It signifies serious operation and an effective motion of the mind concerning the law of God.
"Day and night": A proverbial expression signifying assiduous and unwearied diligence. See the proverb "Night and day" [Chiliad I, century 4, adage 24].
Verse 3: "And he shall be like a tree," or they understand palm or olive. See Jeremiah 17:8. They observe three attributes of the tree placed here: I. Planted by the waters, a symbol of regeneration and the sap which we draw from Christ, namely His righteousness dwelling in us. II. Production of fruit, a symbol of sanctification of life and good works for God's glory and the common good. III. Constant greenness, a symbol of perseverance.
"Shall not wither": properly shall grow slack, fade, fall off. Jeremiah 17:8: "And its leaf shall be green."
"And whatever he does shall prosper." Hebrew: "And everything he does, he shall break through or cause to break through." Others variously: 1. It shall fall out prosperously, it shall be prospered. 2. It shall advance. 3. It shall turn out happily. 4. It shall be fruitful, it shall be promoted. Universally, its fruit will be best, leaves, roots, bark—all will thrive and have prosperous successes. See Ezekiel 47:12. Thus the good man will be fruitful in all things.
Verse 4: "Like chaff which the wind drives away." They explain motz as husk, chaff, straw, palea, pod, rubbish. The Spanish Translator rendered it tamo. They note it is set in opposition to the well-rooted, nourished, firm, green, fruit-bearing tree of verse 3, for chaff lacks every root, sap, fruit, and all greenness. Moreover, it is a most vile, vain thing easily snatched and scattered by the wind. Thus the wicked lack all sap of probity, are most dry and vain, easily scattered by whirlwinds of evil passions. See Isaiah 17:13, Matthew 3:12, Psalm 34:5.
Verse 5: "Therefore the wicked shall not rise in judgment." They explain diversely: I. In that supreme universal judgment, the wicked shall not rise to eternal beatitude in the lot of the righteous, placed at the right hand of the Judge, but to eternal punishments. II. They shall not stand, shall not hold firm in judgment, but shall lose their case; a judicial sentence shall be pronounced against them. The Judge will not pronounce for them, but against them, their case being judged. Thus in Latin, causa cadere is to lose a lawsuit, as a forensic term. III. The wicked shall not rise in judgment, that is, they shall not lift themselves up, shall not exalt themselves, shall not dare to raise their head or appear before God's tribunal, stricken by conscience and fear. Buchanan: "Wickedness shall not dare to raise its sorrowful face before the court, nor shall miserable guilt dare to join itself justly to the crowd." IV. Therefore the wicked shall not rise in that judgment, nor sinners in the assembly of the righteous. They wish it to be an exegesis and application of what was said about chaff being scattered by the wind to the state of the wicked, as if to say: Because they are most empty, they will be deprived of that beatitude mentioned in verse 1, for not even with face uplifted will they dare to present themselves in that blessed and holy state adjudged to the righteous above verse 1, nor finally in the company of the righteous before God.
Verse 6: "For the Lord knows the way of the righteous." They explain: That is, God reckons it to His account, approves and cares for it, and therefore the way of the good does not perish; God leads them in Christ to the most desired harbor of salvation. "And the way of the wicked shall perish." Some: "But the way of the wicked is perishing," that is, because God does not approve it, their way perishes with them, by synecdoche.
Stephen Menochius:
Verse 1: "Blessed" [Hebrew: ashrei]. Pagninus and others translate "beatitudes," as if to say he is blessed in many ways who strives to accomplish what is subjoined. Others, whom Bellarmine follows, think that word is indeclinable and signifies both "blessed" and "blessedness."
"Has not walked in the counsel of the ungodly": has not followed the counsels of the ungodly. The ungodly are properly called despisers of God and religion, who do not worship God or worship many. In Hebrew it is reshaim, which word signifies those restless in mind and conscience, as if inconstant in faith and religion.
"And in the way of sinners has not stood": has not persisted in the way by which sinners and the ungodly walk, nor has he followed them. It is a repetition, but in other words, of the first half-verse.
"In the seat of the scornful": in the assembly of the ungodly and sinners, whose custom is pestilent since it corrupts right faith and good morals. "Pestilence." In Hebrew it is lezim [mockers], but the sense is the same, for no pestilence is worse than to mock the law of God and those who strive to live justly and piously. Although lez by the Hebrews and loimos [pestilent] by the Seventy Interpreters is generally said of any wicked person, whence it came about that others have interpreted the Hebrew word differently: for the Seventy translated it as loimon [pestilent] or hyperēphanon [proud]; Aquila as chleuastēn [mocker]; Symmachus as epidetēn [impostor]; the fifth and sixth editions as paranomon [lawless or transgressor of the law].
Verse 2: "In the law of the Lord": the precepts of the Lord.
"His will/delight": pleasure, delight, study, desire, business, love, and inclination.
"He shall meditate": he shall exercise himself in thought, namely, in word and work; for both the Latin word, the Greek meletēsei, and the Hebrew yehgeh signify this.
Verse 3: "Tree": arbor. For the Hebrews call trees etzim [woods/trees].
Verse 4: "Its leaf shall not wither." For there are some fruit-bearing trees whose leaves fall in autumn, others which always retain the honor of their foliage, like pine, palm, olive. To these David compares the righteous, so that...
Verse 5: "Like chaff," as Pagninus translates, for the Hebrew word motz properly signifies the minutest and lightest chaff which the wind easily snatches, such as husks and other such rubbish.
"Therefore the wicked shall not rise in the judgment of the righteous": they shall not exalt themselves, shall not lift their head. They shall not dare to appear before God's tribunal. Or, they shall not stand firm with the righteous, they shall have no place among the righteous. As for the illative particle "Therefore," it is taken diversely by various authors. For either it is deduced from what was said above in this way: Because the wicked are like chaff, therefore they will not be able to stand in judgment. Or it is connected with what follows in this sense: They rightly shall not rise, etc., because the Lord knows the way of the righteous, but not of the wicked, but rather hates and execrates it.
"In the council/assembly." Here concilium signifies a gathering and congregation, and should be spelled with a 'c' to correspond to the Hebrew edah [assembly]. In the first verse it should be spelled with an 's' [consilio], for it is another word etzah [counsel], although in Greek it is the same word, albeit ambiguous: boulē.
Verse 6: "The Lord knows the way of the righteous." The Lord approves the ways of the righteous, that is, their morals and manner of acting and living which they follow; He also blesses and rewards them well. In Italian we say Riconoscere [to recognize/approve]. "Shall perish": it shall obtain an unhappy and unfortunate end.
Jacob Tirinus:
Verse 1: Truly "Blessed" is not he who flourishes in wealth, delights, honors, but "who has not walked in the counsel of the ungodly," that is, who does not obey the evil counsels of wicked men. "And in the way of sinners has not stood," or does not cling to their reason and manner of living, nor "has he sat in the seat of the scornful," that is, has not taught others their false, impious, and pestilent doctrines. The Seventy translated pestilentiae as loimōn [of plagues/pestilences]. In Hebrew it is letzim, that is, mockers, or those who ridicule divine and human laws and instill their impious principles into the common people, and thus are plagues of the world. Designated are partly atheists, partly heretics. Thus Saint Athanasius, Origen, Basil, and Theodoretus in the Greek Catena of Daniel Barbaro. And here Saint Ambrose and Saint Augustine note a threefold gradation of impiety: First in the words counsel, way, seat; second in the names ungodly, sinners by habit, and pestilent; third in the verbs walked by obeying, stood by clinging, sat by teaching others.
[In the assembly] Verse 5: "The wicked shall not rise." Hebrew: "Shall not stand." Chaldean: "Shall not hold firm," because namely they shall lose their case and be condemned, namely "in the judgment of the righteous" and "in the assembly" or company of the same. As if to say: When before the divine tribunal the wicked are gathered together with the righteous and judged, then the wicked will no longer stand as once with head held high, nor will they hold firm or occupy the first place, but out of shame and fear will scarcely stand on their feet, with face cast to the ground, and their case will fall entirely, they will be openly condemned and with utmost ignominy kept far from the assembly of the righteous. Thus Saint Augustine.
Verse 6: "Because the Lord knows" [with knowledge of approval], that is, approves, loves, prospers, and compensates with reward "the way," that is, the manner of living, endeavors, and actions "of the righteous." Conversely, He "hates and will destroy the path," that is, the actions and endeavors "of the wicked." Thus Theodoretus and Damascenus.
Jacob Gordonus:
This first Psalm, which among the Hebrews is anepigraphos [without title], has not Ezra, as some suspect, but King David the Prophet as its author. It has in the first place the epigraphē [title] which is now among the Seventy, and the same is testified by Jerome [Letter to Paulinus], Augustine, Ambrose, Hilary, and others. The argument of this Psalm is concerning true beatitude, and teaches that it is to be had neither in this life nor in the next except through true justice. Therefore, let him turn from evil and do good, which the first two verses teach, who now wishes to arrive at true justice and also that beatitude which can be had in this life, so that from this you may see that riches, pleasures, and even the bare imaginations of the Innovators [Protestants], by which they pretend to be righteous even in sins, nay, even always righteous and blessed, if indeed predestined, are far from the right way of beatitude and from every solid object of beatitude. See Psalm 31:1.
Verse 1: "Blessed is the man who has not walked in the counsel of the ungodly," etc. It is indeed familiar to the Prophets to repeat the same thing twice, and so that the repetition is for them as a fuller explanation. Thus at present, "not to walk in the counsel of the ungodly" and "not to stand in the way of sinners" mean the same. Nevertheless, some not badly distinguish these three: to sin, to persevere, and to teach pernicious things from the cathedra of pestilence or of mockers, as the Hebrew has letzim. Such are the authors of wicked doctrines and scandal. To elucidate this explanation also, that gradation in the words walking, standing, sitting can be referred, of which words the latter may seem more grave. Moreover, what is in the Vulgate "Blessed is the man," the Hebrew has ashrei, which to some is an indeclinable word signifying blessed and blessedness, whence among the Seventy it is makarios anēr. To others it is a plural noun in construct, as if you would say "Beatitudes of the man" according to Pagninus. What "counsel" is will be said in verse 5. "In the cathedra/seat." Hebrew moshav [seat]. And what some translate from the Hebrew as "in the seat of mockers" does not differ in sense from "cathedra of pestilence" which the Vulgate and Seventy have.
Verse 2: "But in the law." Just as in verse 1 he describes the righteous man by negation, so here by affirmation, namely that he is righteous who, as is fitting, adheres to the law of God, always thus adhering to God; otherwise it is certain that justice can be lost in this life, even to the chagrin of the Innovators [Protestants], of whom elsewhere. But what is that meletēsei [he shall meditate] "day and night"? If such perpetual meditation is necessary, justice will be impossible for us. Certainly, meditation of the mind cannot be absolutely perpetual for man in this life. Therefore the sense is that thought about keeping the divine law ought to be most frequent, or whenever the occasion of sinning occurs, and thus finally it ought to be perpetual in that a contrary will is never admitted. But this can be done. Therefore justice, especially since Scripture obliges us to retain it, is not impossible. To whom would this come to mind unless a fool?
Verse 3: "And he shall be like a tree..." [Text fragment: Shall wither, etc. The righteous is a tree... like wood... The righteous is like the happiest of trees, such as palm and pine, which both give fruit and, with fruit plucked, remain green without losing leaves. Thus, I say, the righteous, retaining his justice, works to have eternal life in its time, where at once... fruit, this leaf, and greenness shall not...]
Verses 4 & 5: "Like chaff." Some translate from Hebrew as gluma [husk]; Seventy as chnoos [chaff]. Both versions denote the inconstant and easily vanishing condition of the wicked. Moreover, "council" should be read with a 'c' here, but in verse 1 with an 's'. For although in Greek both are boulē, nevertheless the words are diverse in Hebrew. And what is in this place edah [assembly], Jerome translated as "congregation"; in the former place it is the noun etzah [counsel] from the root ya'atz [to counsel].
[Paraphrase of the same author:]
Verse 1: Blessed even in this life is that man who has not walked in the counsel of the ungodly, who has not sinned, and in the way of sinners has not stood, has not persevered in sin, and in the cathedra of pestilence has not sat, teaching as if from a cathedra false and pestilent doctrine.
Verse 2: But in the law of the Lord and in keeping the commandments is his will, a determined counsel of the mind, and in keeping His law he shall meditate with anxious and earnest thought day and night, constantly, and never admitting a contrary will.
Verse 3: And this righteous man shall be like a tree, a green tree planted by the divine hand beside the courses of waters, in a pleasant and fertile place, which is the Church of God, which shall give its fruit, its apples, good works, in its time, indeed in this life through the increase of divine grace, which will work in us an eternal weight of glory.
Verse 4: And its leaf shall not wither, its greenness shall not fade, he shall obtain the gift of perseverance, and whatever he does shall prosper, shall succeed prosperously... and glory, nor sinners, deserters, to future glory, while to those who love God all things work together for good.
Verse 5: Not so the wicked, not so: different and unhappy is the lot of the wicked, certainly not stable in what is right, but like dust, like husks, like light chaff which the wind drives from the face of the earth, so the wicked, tossed by the heat of disturbances, inconstant, vile, and at last shall be reckoned as nothing.
Verse 6: Therefore, because they are thus reprobate by God, they shall not rise in the final judgment to beatitude, where the righteousness of the just will appear by the way of the divine law in the assembly of the just and the company of the predestined.
[Verse 7/6]: For the Lord knows the way of the just, the sentence stands and God's firm decree concerning the elect for eternal life on account of good works, and the way of the wicked shall perish, whose decree by God is eternal damnation on account of sins committed.
Jacob Bossuet:
Verse 1: "Has not walked" with "has not stood," "has not sat." Note three steps. The first is to go to the wicked and lend ears to their counsels, against that prohibition: "My son, do not walk with them" [Proverbs 1:15]. The second is to advance with sinners and follow in their footsteps. The third is to acquiesce in the custom of sinning and devote oneself to corrupting others. Therefore Theodoret notes three things here: 1. motion toward evil, 2. state, 3. habit or hardening.
"Cathedra": others [read] assembly.
"Of the scornful": of pestilent men who corrupt others. Jerome [reads] of mockers, elsewhere of deceivers. Commentary on Psalms, by which name perverse men are frequently designated in Scriptures, as that is: "Judgments are prepared for mockers" [Proverbs 19:29], etc.
Verse 2: "His will/delight": study. He loves God and His law and meditates on them assiduously, as it is written: "These words shall be in your heart; you shall meditate on them when you sit in your house, when you walk by the way" [Deuteronomy 6:6-7], etc.
Verse 3: "And he shall be." First he taught to turn from evil, second to do good, according to Psalm 33: "Depart from evil and do good." Third, with these passed over, he now proposes the reward. "Like a tree." This is the good tree that bears good fruit [Matthew 7:17].
Verse 4: "Not so." The repetition is lacking. Jerome.
Verse 5: "Shall not rise": shall not subsist. Hebrew: "The wicked shall not be justified, God being judge." Chaldean: "They shall lose their case."
Verse 6: "The Lord knows": approves, loves. Thus "I have known you by name" [Exodus 33:17].
CONTINUE
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