The Bible, Douay Rheims, Book 21: Psalms

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Psalms Chapter 54

Exaudi, Deus.

A prayer of a just man under persecution from the wicked. It agrees to
Christ persecuted by the Jews, and betrayed by Judas.

54:1. Unto the end, in verses, understanding for David.

54:2. Hear, O God, my prayer, and despise not lmy supplication:

54:3. Be attentive to me and hear me. I am grieved in my exercise; and
am troubled,

54:4. At the voice of the enemy, and at the tribulation of the sinner.
For they have cast iniquities upon me: and in wrath they were
troublesome to me.

54:5. My heart is troubled within me: and the fear of death is fallen
upon me.

54:6. Fear and trembling are come upon me: and darkness hath covered me.

54:7. And I said: Who will give me wings like a dove, and I will fly and
be at rest?

54:8. Lo, I have gone far off flying away; and I abode in the
wilderness.

54:9. I waited for him that hath saved me from pusillanimity of spirit,
and a storm.

54:10. Cast down, O Lord, and divide their tongues; for I have seen
iniquity and contradiction in the city.

54:11. Day and night shall iniquity surround it upon its walls: and in
the midst thereof arelabour,

54:12. And injustice. And usury and deceit have not departed from its
streets.

54:13. For if my enemy had reviled me, I would verily have borne with
it. And if he that hated me had spoken great things against me, I would
perhaps have hidden my self from him.

54:14. But thou a man of one mind, my guide, and my familiar,

54:15. Who didst take sweetmeats together with me: in the house of God
we walked with consent.

54:16. Let death come upon them, and let them go down alive into hell.
For there is wickedness in their dwellings: in the midst of them.

Let death, etc... This, and such like imprecations which occur in the
psalms, are delivered prophetically; that is, by way of foretelling the
punishments which shall fall upon the wicked from divine justice, and
approving the righteous ways of God: but not by way of ill will, or
uncharitable curses, which the law of God disallows.

54:17. But I have cried to God: and the Lord will save me.

54:18. Evening and morning, and at noon I will speak and declare: and he
shall hear my voice.

54:19. He shall redeem my soul in peace from them that draw near to me:
for among many they were with me.

Among many, etc... That is, they that drew near to attack me were many
in company all combined to fight against me.

54:20. God shall hear, and the Eternal shall humble them. For there is
no change with them, and they have not feared God:

54:21. He hath stretched forth his hand to repay. They have defiled his
covenant,

54:22. They are divided by the wrath of his countenance, and his heart
hath drawn near. His words are smoother tha oil, and the same are darts.

They are divided, etc... Dispersed, scattered, and brought to nothing,
by the wrath of God; who looks with indignation on their wicked and
deceitful ways.

54:23. Cast thy care upon the Lord, and he shall sustain thee: he shall
not suffer the just to waver for ever.

54:24. But thou, O God, shalt bring them down into the pit of
destruction. Bloody and deceitful men shall not live out half their
days; but I will trust in thee, O Lord.

Psalms Chapter 55

Miserere mei, Deus.

A prayer of David in danger and distress.

55:1. Unto the end, for a people that is removed at a distance form the
sanctuary: for David, for an inscription of a title (or pillar) when the
Philistines held him in Geth.

55:2. Have mercy on me, O God, for man hath trodden me under foot; all
the day long he hath afflicted me fighting against me.

55:3. My enemies have trodden on me all the day long; for they are many
that make war against me.

55:4. From the height of the day I shall fear: but I will trust in thee.

The height of the day... That is, even at noonday, when the sun is the
highest, I am still in danger.

55:5. In God I will praise my words, in God I have put my trust: I will
not fear what flesh can do against me.

My words... The words or promises God has made in my favour.

55:6. All the day long they detested my words: all their thoughts were
against me unto evil.

55:7. They will dwell and hide themselves: they will watch my heel. As
they have waited for my soul,

55:8. For nothing shalt thou save them: in thy anger thou shalt break
the people in pieces. O God,

For nothing shalt thou save them... That is, since they lie in wait to
ruin my soul, thou shalt for no consideration favour or assist them, but
execute thy justice upon them.

55:9. I have declared to thee my life: thou hast set me tears in thy
sight, As also in thy promise.

55:10. Then shall my enemies be turned back. In what day soever I shall
call upon thee, behold I know thou art my God.

55:11. In God will I praise the word, in the Lord will I praise his
speech. In God have I hoped, I will not fear what man can do to me.

55:12. In me, O God, are vows to thee, which I will lpay, praises to
thee:

55:13. Because thou hast delivered my soul from death, my feet from
falling: that I may please in the sight of God, in the light of the
living.

Psalms Chapter 56

Miserere mei, Deus. The prophet prays in his affliction, and praises God
for his delivery.

56:1. Unto the end, destroy not, for David, for an inscription of a
title, when he fled from Saul into the cave. [1 Kings 24.]

Destroy not... Suffer me not to be destroyed.

56:2. Have mercy on me, O God, have mercy on me: for my soul trusteth in
thee. And in the shadow of thy wings will I hope, until iniquity pass
away.

56:3. I will cry to God the most high; to God who hath done good to me.

56:4. He hath sent from heaven and delivered me: he hath made them a
reproach that trod upon me. God hath sent his mercy and his truth,

56:5. And he hath delivered my soul from the midst of the young lions. I
slept troubled. The sons ofmen, whose teeth are weapons and arrows, and
their tongue a sharp sword.

56:6. Be thou exalted, O God, above the heavens, and thy glory above all
the earth.

56:7. They prepared a snare for my feet; and they bowed down my soul.
They dug a pit before my face, and they are fallen into it.

56:8. My heart is ready, O God, my heart is ready: I will sing, and
rehearse a psalm.

56:9. Arise, O my glory, arise psaltery and harp: I will arise early.

56:10. I will give praise to thee, O Lord, among the people: I will sing
a psalm to thee among the nations.

56:11. For thy mercy is magnified even to the heavens: and thy truth
unto the clouds.

56:12. Be thou exalted, O God, above the heavens: and thy glory above
all the earth.

Psalms Chapter 57

Si vere utique.

David reproveth the wicked, and foretelleth their punishment.

57:1. Unto the end, destroy not, for David, for an inscription of a
title.

57:2. If in very deed ye speak justice: judge right things, ye sons of
men.

57:3. For in your heart you work iniquity: your hands forge injustice in
the earth.

57:4. The wicked are alienated from the womb; they have gone astray from
the womb: they have spoken false things.

57:5. Their madness is according to the likeness of a serpent: like the
deaf asp that stoppeth her ears:

57:6. Which will not hear the voice of the charmers; nor of the wizard
that charmeth wisely.

57:7. God shall break in pieces their teeth in their mouth: the Lord
shall break the grinders of the lions.

57:8. They shall come to nothing, like water running down; he hath bent
his bow till they be weakened.

57:9. Like wax that melteth they shall be taken away: fire hath fallen
on them, and they shall not see the sun.

57:10. Before your thorns could know the brier; he swalloweth them up,
as alive, in his wrath.

Before your thorns, etc... That is, before your thorns grow up, so as to
become strong briers, they shall be overtaken and consumed by divine
justice, swallowing them up, as it were, alive in his wrath.

57:11. The just shall rejoice when he shall see the revenge: he shall
wash his hands in the blood of the sinner.

Shall wash his hands, etc... Shall applaud the justice of God, and take
occasion from the consideration of the punishment of the wicked to wash
and cleanse his hands from sin.

57:12. And man shall say: If indeed there be fruit to the just: there is
indeed a God that judgeth them on the earth.

Psalms Chapter 58

Eripe me.

A prayer to be delivered from the wicked, with confidence in God's help
and protection. It agrees to Christ and his enemies the Jews.

58:1. Unto the end, destroy not, for David for an inscription of a
title, when Saul sent and watched his house to kill him. [1 Kings 19.]

58:2. Deliver me from my enemies, O my God; and defend me from them that
rise up against me.

58:3. Deliver me from them that work iniquity, and save me from bloody
men.

58:4. For behold they have caught my soul: the mighty have rushed in
upon me:

58:5. Neither is it my iniquity, nor my sin, O Lord: without iniquity
have I ren, and directed my steps.

58:6. Rise up thou to meet me, and behold: even thou, O Lord, the God of
hosts, the God of Israel. Attend to visit all the nations: have no mercy
on all them that work iniquity.

58:7. They shall return at everning, and shall suffer hunger like dogs:
and shall go round about the city.

58:8. Behold they shall speak with their mouth, and a sword is in their
lips: for who, say they, hath heard us?

58:9. But thou, O Lord, shalt laugh at them: thou shalt bring all the
nations to nothing.

58:10. I will keep my strength to thee: for thou art my protector:

58:11. My God, his mercy shall prevent me.

58:12. God shall let me see over my enemies: slay them not, lest at any
time my people forget. Scatter them by thy power; and bring them down, O
Lord, my protector:

58:13. For the sin of their mouth, and the word of their lips: and let
them be taken in their pride. And for their cursing and lying they shall
be talked of,

58:14. When they are consumed: when they are consumed by thy wrath, and
they shall be no more. And they shall know that God will rule Jacob, and
all the ends of the earth.

58:15. They shall return at evening and shall suffer hunger like dogs:
and shall go round about the city.

58:16. They shall be scattered abroad to eat, and shall murmur if they
be not filled.

58:17. But I will sing thy strength: and will extol thy mercy in the
morning. For thou art become my support, and my refuge, in the day of my
trouble.

58:18. Unto thee, O my helper, will I sing, for thou art God my defence:
my God my mercy.

Psalms Chapter 59

Deus, repulisti nos.

After many afflictions, the church of Christ shall prevail.

59:1. Unto the end, for them that shall be changed, for the inscription
of a title, to David himself, for doctrine,

59:2. When he set fire to Mesopotamia of Syria and Sobal: and Joab
returned and slew of Edom, in the vale of the saltpits, twelve thousand
men.

59:3. O God, thou hast cast us off, and hast destroyed us; thou hast
been angry, and hast had mercy on us.

59:4. Thou hast moved the earth, and hast troubled it: heal thou the
breaches thereof, for it has been moved.

59:5. Thou hast shewn thy people hard things; thou hast made us drink
the wine of sorrow.

59:6. Thou hast given a warning to them that fear thee: that they may
flee from before the bow: That thy beloved may be delivered.

59:7. Save me with thy right hand, and hear me.

59:8. God hath spoken in his holy place: I will rejoice, and I will
divide Sichem; and will mete out the vale of tabernacles.

59:9. Galaad is mine, and Manasses is mine: and Ephraim is the strength
of my head. Juda is my king:

59:10. Moab is the pot of my hope. Into Edom will I stretch out my shoe:
to me the foreigners are made subject.

The pot of my hope... Or my watering pot. That is, a vessel for meaner
uses, by being reduced to serve me, even in the meanest employments.
Ibid. Foreigners... So the Philistines are called, who had no kindred
with the Israelites; whereas the Edomites, Moabites, etc., were
originally of the same family.

59:11. Who will bring me into the strong city? who will lead me into
Edom?

59:12. Wilt not thou, O God, who hast cast us off? and wilt not thou, O
God, go out with our armies?

59:13. Give us help from trouble: for vain is the salvation of man.

59:14. Through God we shall do mightily: and he shall bring to nothing
them that afflict us.

Psalms Chapter 60

Exaudi, Deus.

A prayer for the coming of the kingdom of Christ, which shall have no
end.

60:1. Unto the end, in hymns, for David.

60:2. Hear, O God, my supplication: be attentive to my prayer.

60:3. To thee have I cried from the ends of the earth: when my heart was
in anguish, thou hast exalted me on a rock. Thou hast conducted me;

60:4. For thou hast been my hope; a tower of strength against the face
of the enemy.

60:5. In thy tabernacle I shall dwell for ever: I shall be protected
under the covert of thy wings.

60:6. For thou, my God, hast heard my prayer: thou hast given an
inheritance to them that fear thy name.

60:7. Thou wilt add days to the days of the king: his years even to
generation and generation.

60:8. He abideth for ever in the sight of God: his mercy and truth who
shall search?

60:9. So will I sing a psalm to thy name for ever and ever: that I may
pay my vows from day to day.

Psalms Chapter 61

Nonne Deo.

The prophet encourageth himself and all others to trust in God, and
serve him.

61:1. Unto the end, for Idithun, a psalm of David.

61:2. Shall not my soul be subject to God? for from him is my salvation.

61:3. For he is my God and my saviour: he is my protector, I shall be
moved no more.

61:4. How long do you rush in upon a man? you all kill, as if you were
thrusting down a leaning wall, and a tottering fence.

61:5. But they have thought to cast away my price; I ran in thirst: they
blessed with their mouth, but cursed with their heart.

61:6. But be thou, O my soul, subject to God: for from him is my
patience.

61:7. For he is my God and my saviour: he is my helper, I shall not be
moved.

61:8. In God is my salvation and my glory: he is the God of my help, and
my hope is in God.

61:9. Trust in him, all ye congregation of people: pour out your hearts
before him. God is our helper for ever.

61:10. But vain are the sons of men, the sons of men are liars in the
balances: that by vanity they may together deceive.

Are liars in the balances, etc... They are so vain and light, that if
they are put into the scales, they will be found to be of no weight; and
to be mere lies, deceit, and vanity. Or, They are liars in their
balances, by weighing things by false weights, and preferring the
temporal before the eternal.

61:11. Trust not in iniquity, and cover not robberies: if riches abound,
set not your heart upon them.

61:12. God hath spoken once, these two things have I heard, that power
belongeth to God,

61:13. And mercy to thee, O Lord; for thou wilt render to every man
according to his works.

Psalms Chapter 62

Deus Deus meus, ad te.

The prophet aspireth after God.

62:1. A psalm of David while he was in the desert of Edom.

62:2. O God, my God, to thee do I watch at break of day. For thee my
soul hath thirsted; for thee my flesh, O how many ways!

62:3. In a desert land, and where there is no way, and no water: so in
the sanctuary have I come before thee, to see thy power and thy glory.

62:4. For thy mercy is better than lives: thee my lips will praise.

62:5. Thus will I bless thee all my life long: and in thy name I will
lift up my hands.

62:6. Let my soul be filled as with marrow and fatness: and my mouth
shall praise thee with joyful lips.

62:7. If I have remembered thee upon my bed, I will meditate on thee in
the morning:

62:8. Because thou hast been my helper. And I will rejoice under the
covert of thy wings:

62:9. My soul hath stuck close to thee: thy right hand hath received me.

62:10. But they have fought my soul in vain, they shall go into the
lower parts of the earth:

62:11. They shall be delivered into the hands of the sword, they shall
be the portions of foxes.

62:12. But the king shall rejoice in God, all they shall be praised that
swear by him: because the mouth is stopped of them that speak wicked
things.

Psalms Chapter 63

Exaudi Deus orationem.

A prayer in affliction, with confidence in God that he will bring to
nought the machinations of persecutors.

63:1. Unto the end, a psalm for David.

63:2. Hear O God, my prayer, when I make supplication to thee: deliver
my soul from the fear of the enemy.

63:3. Thou hast protected me from the assembly of the malignant; from
the multitude of the workers of iniquity.

63:4. For they have whetted their tongues like a sword; they have bent
their bow a bitter thing,

63:5. To shoot in secret the undefiled.

63:6. They will shoot at him on a sudden, and will not fear: they are
resolute in wickedness. They have talked of hiding snares; they have
said: Who shall see them?

63:7. They have searched after iniquities: they have failed in their
search. Man shall come to a deep heart:

A deep heart... That is, crafty, subtle, deep projects and designs;
which nevertheless shall not succeed; for God shall be exalted in
bringing them to nought by his wisdom and power.

63:8. And God shall be exalted. The arrows of children are their wounds:

The arrows of children are their wounds... That is, the wounds, stripes,
or blows, they seek to inflict upon the just, are but like the weak
efforts of children's arrows, which can do no execution: and their
tongues, that is, their speeches against them come to nothing.

63:9. And their tongues against them are made weak. All that saw them
were troubled;

63:10. And every man was afraid. And they declared the works of God, and
understood his doings.

63:11. The just shall rejoice in the Lord, and shall hope in him: and
all the upright in heart shall be praised.

Psalms Chapter 64

Te decet.

God is to be praised in his church, to which all nations shall be
called.

64:1. To the end, a psalm of David. The canticle of Jeremias and
Ezechiel to the people of the captivity, when they began to go out.

Of the captivity... That is, the people of the captivity of Babylon.
This is not in the Hebrew, but is found in the ancient translation of
the Septuagint.

64:2. A hymn, O God, becometh thee in Sion: and a vow shall be paid to
thee in Jerusalem.

64:3. O hear my prayer: all flesh shall come to thee.

64:4. The words of the wicked have prevailed over us: and thou wilt
pardon our transgressions.

64:5. Blessed is he whom thou hast chosen and taken to thee: he shall
dwell in thy courts. We shall be filled with the good things of thy
house; holy is thy temple,

64:6. Wonderful in justice. Hear us, O God our saviour, who art the hope
of all the ends of the earth, and in the sea afar off.

64:7. Thou who preparest the mountains by thy strength, being girded
with power:

64:8. Who troublest the depth of the sea, the noise of its waves. The
Gentiles shall be troubled,

64:9. And they that dwell in the uttermost borders shall be afraid at
thy signs: thou shalt make the outgoings of the morning and of the
evening to be joyful.

64:10. Thou hast visited the earth, and hast plentifully watered it;
thou hast many ways enriched it. The river of God is filled with water,
thou hast prepared their food: for so is its preparation.

64:11. Fill up plentifully the streams thereof, multiply its fruits; it
shall spring up and rejoice in its showers.

64:12. Thou shalt bless the crown of the year of thy goodness: and thy
fields shall be filled with plenty.

64:13. The beautiful places of the wilderness shall grow fat: and the
hills shall be girded about with joy,

64:14. The rams of the flock are clothed, and the vales shall abound
with corn: they shall shout, yea they shall sing a hymn.

Psalms Chapter 65

Jubilate Deo.

An invitation to praise God.

65:1. Unto the end, a canticle of a psalm of the resurrection. Shout
with joy to God, all the earth,

65:2. Sing ye a psalm to his name; give glory to his praise.

65:3. Say unto God, How terrible are thy works, O Lord! in the multitude
of thy strength thy enemies shall lie to thee.

65:4. Let all the earth adore thee, and sing to thee: let it sing a
psalm to thy name.

65:5. Come and see the works of God; who is terrible in his counsels
over the sons of men.

65:6. Who turneth the sea into dry land, in the river they shall pass on
foot: there shall we rejoice in him.

65:7. Who by his power ruleth for ever: his eyes behold the nations; let
not them that provoke him be exalted in themselves.

65:8. O bless our God, ye Gentiles: and make the voice of his praise to
be heard.

65:9. Who hath set my soul to live: and hath not suffered my feet to be
moved:

65:10. For thou, O God, hast proved us: thou hast tried us by fire, as
silver is tried.

65:11. Thou hast brought us into a net, thou hast laid afflictions on
our back:

65:12. Thou hast set men over our heads. We have passed through fire and
water, and thou hast brought us out into a refreshment.

65:13. I will go into thy house with burnt offerings: I will pay thee my
vows,

65:14. Which my lips have uttered, And my mouth hath spoken, when I was
in trouble.

65:15. I will offer up to thee holocausts full of marrow, with burnt
offerings of rams: I will offer to thee bullocks with goats.

65:16. Come and hear, all ye that fear God, and I will tell you what
great things he hath done for my soul.

65:17. I cried to him with my mouth: and I extolled him with my tongue.

65:18. If I have looked at iniquity in my heart, the Lord will not hear
me.

65:19. Therefore hath God heard me, and hath attended to the voice of my
supplication.

65:20. Blessed be God, who hath not turned away my prayer, nor his mercy
from me.

Psalms Chapter 66

Deus misereatur.

A prayer for the propagation of the church.

66:1. Unto the end, in hymns, a psalm of a canticle for David.

66:2. May God have mercy on us, and bless us: may he cause the light of
his countenance to shine upon us, and may he have mercy on us.

66:3. That we may know thy way upon earth: thy salvation in all nations.

66:4. Let people confess to thee, O God: let all people give praise to
thee.

66:5. Let the nations be glad and rejoice: for thou judgest the people
with justice, and directest the nations upon earth.

66:6. Let the people, O God, confess to thee: let all the people give
praise to thee:

66:7. The earth hath yielded her fruit. May God, our God bless us,

66:8. May God bless us: and all the ends of the earth fear him.

Psalms Chapter 67

Exurgat Deus.

The glorious establishment of the church of the New Testament,
prefigured by the benefits bestowed on the people of Israel.

67:1. Unto the end, a psalm of a canticle for David himself.

67:2. Let God arise, and let his enemies be scattered: and let them that
hate him flee from before his face.

67:3. As smoke vanisheth, so let them vanish away: as wax melteth before
the fire, so let the wicked perish at the presence of God.

67:4. And let the just feast, and rejoice before God: and be delighted
with gladness.

67:5. Sing ye to God, sing a psalm to his name, make a way for him who
ascendeth upon the west: the Lord is his name. Rejoice ye before him:
but the wicked shall be troubled at his presence,

Who ascendeth upon the west... Super occasum. St. Gregory understands it
of Christ, who after his going down, like the sun, in the west, by his
passion and death, ascended more glorious, and carried all before him.
St. Jerome renders it, who ascendeth, or cometh up, through the deserts.

67:6. Who is the father of orphans, and the judge of widows. God in his
holy place:

67:7. God who maketh men of one manner to dwell in a house: Who bringeth
out them that were bound in strength; in like manner them that provoke,
that dwell in sepulchres.

Of one manner... That is, agreeing in faith, unanimous in love, and
following the same manner of discipline. It is verified in the servants
of God, living together in his house, which is the church. 1 Tim. 3.15.
Ibid. Them that were bound, etc... The power and mercy of God appears in
his bringing out of their captivity those that were strongly bound in
their sins: and in restoring to his grace those whose behaviour had been
most provoking; and who by their evil habits were not only dead, but
buried in their sepulchres.

67:8. O God, when thou didst go forth in the sight of thy people, when
thou didst pass through the desert:

67:9. The earth was moved, and the heavens dropped at the presence of
the God of Sina, at the presence of the God of Israel.

67:10. Thou shalt set aside for thy inheritance a free rain, O God: and
it was weakened, but thou hast made it perfect.

A free rain... the manna, which rained plentifully from heaven, in
favour of God's inheritance, that is, of his people Israel: which was
weakened indeed under a variety of afflictions, but was made perfect by
God; that is, was still supported by divine providence, and brought on
to the promised land. It agrees particularly to the church of Christ his
true inheritance, which is plentifully watered with the free rain of
heavenly grace; and through many infirmities, that is, crosses and
tribulations, is made perfect, and fitted for eternal glory.

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