affliction in full measure, a sea of pain and ignominy, in which the sins of the world were to be drowned. According to some, the Saviour had here alluded to that agony of death which he suffered in the garden of Gethsemani: still the whole passage seems rather as if it should be understood of approaching death, since our Lord also adds thereto: They have pierced my hands and feet, they have shared my garment among them; and had a little before adduced the words of the Jews who mocked him; and because our Lord intoned the first verse of this Psalm when hanging on the Cross, so that the whole Psalm may fitly be called the prayer of the dying Saviour.

"Our Saviour now begs, that the Father may stand by him at the approaching accomplishment of the great and difficult offering, since there is no one to stand by and help him, no one either in heaven or in earth to be found, who would support the great sacrifice of the High-priest for ever, when redeeming mankind: since there is but one name in which we can be saved, the name of Jesus. Moreover, it is here forced upon us how the Saviour really took the punishment of sins from us, and upon himself, since he suffered death in its whole bitterness upon the hard tree of the cross, amid the most unutterable pangs of body and of soul, in order to work out grace for us to die that same death which the guilt of the human race had deserved, among the comforts of faith, in the arms of the love of our reconciled Father, and in the peace of hope."

13. Circumdederunt, &c.

"The dying Saviour complains now of the savageness of his foes, whom he compares with oxen and lions, and afterwards, v. 17, with dogs also. To the ox, indeed, is peculiar that wildness with which it throws down everything that comes in its way, to the lion that strength and savageness with which it goes howling after its prey, but dogs bellow and bark even when they can do no further harm. Thus the foes of Christ persecuted the Lord with the wrath of wild oxen, with the cry of lions going out for their prey, and with the irritating bark of yelping dogs. Like wild oxen did the highpriests, Pharisees, and members of the high council in Jerusalem, hasten together, set the whole city in motion, and were offended in their rage even with Pilate, because he stood in their way to protect Jesus against them. Like lions, who when hungry roar after their prey, the enemies of Christ filled the air with the cry, Crucify him,' and when the victim of their rage already hung bleeding upon the cross, these hounds still yelped with biting reproaches after him."

15, 16. Sicut aqua effusus, &c.

"The Saviour pictures what he was brought to by the savage treatment of his foes, and says, he is poured out like water, i. e., his powers are unstrung, deprived of all internal connection, all

tension of the nerves, broken and melted like water which is poured out, his bones drawn asunder, torn apart, distorted, as happens in crucifixion. And, indeed, our Saviour suffered not only externally, was not only covered with wounds, pierced with nails, stretched miserably in all his limbs: but the fulness of his pain was interior, his divine human heart, in which the holiness of a God and the feeling of mercy for the manhood he had taken, struggled in a marvellous way; this heart of his was torn asunder by pain, was melted within in woe like wax in a hot oven: and so, dried up through loss of blood and strength, and deprived of all interior comfort, did he, who was God and man, lie like a broken vessel, that his tongue cleaved to his gums. Thus was he brought then to the dust of death: his dissolution approached, and inevitably was that death to be executed upon him through which we were to have life."

17, 18. Quoniam circumdederunt, &c.

"That no doubt may remain to us who is the burden of this Psalm, the act by which Jesus offered himself up is most plainly pointed out by the Psalmist, viz., what is quite peculiar to crucifixion, that the victim was fastened to wood with nails which were driven through his hands and feet, by which also the members of the body were so stretched that the ribs and bones of it could, so to speak, be counted.”

Ipsi vero consideraverunt et inspexerunt me.

"In addition to all the vexation of this savage crucifixion, was also the shame of an entire unclothing, through which the most holy and most innocent was exposed to the insolent gaze of sinners. So did the Saviour wish to do penance for all our sins, even the most shameful disgrace of man, through the lower desire of senses, was avenged upon him.

"While the holy virgin Potamia was condemned to be immersed in boiling pitch, and the coarse soldiers were going for that purpose to strip the chaste virgin of her clothes, when she asked them one favour, to leave her her clothes; she succeeded however in her request, on condition of being immersed in the vessel of boiling pitch as long as they pleased, and thus making her sufferings longer. And they acquiesced in her request, and by two hours' suffering did this But such a favour noble virgin purchase an escape from shame. was not granted to the Lamb who loaded himself with the sins of the world, and every species of them."

19. Diviserunt sibi vestimenta mea."

"In this too the words of the Psalmist could not be more literally fulfilled, since according to the account of St. John, the soldiers who had executed the crucifixion of Jesus, had divided his garment amongst them, as was the traditional usage; but as the

vesture was woven throughout, and as being of one piece could not be separated, they cast lots for it."

20. Tu autem Domine, &c.

"After the Saviour has so described his passion, he goes back to prayer again, in order to move his heavenly Father to give him, after his death was fulfilled, life, resurrection, and victory over his enemies. Since, although the Saviour had said before, that he had power to lay his life down and power to take it up again, and although, as the Church teaches, he came forth by his own power as conqueror of death and hell from the grave, on account of the hypostatical union of the Godhead and manhood, which in no one moment of his passion and death was taken away; yet on the other hand, the Saviour appears in his entire resignation and annihilation as if entirely in his heavenly Father's hands, to whom he had dedicated himself as an offering for the sins of the world, and upon whom it now depended, after the fulfilment of his passion and death, to give him resurrection, life, victory, and glory. Hence the Saviour begs that the Father would not neglect to protect him, since the wrath of his enemies aimed at destroying him entirely."

21. Erue a frameâ, &c.

"The Saviour begs here for the delivery of his life, that happy life with the Father, the only one that deserves the name, not to escape giving up his earthly life which was through death to be offered up. Yet as if the Son of the eternal Father, with the surety for the human race, and charged with the satisfaction for the same, had staked every thing upon it, even his own being, so he here begs of the Father, as if for a gift or a grace for himself, for what he had possessed from eternity with the Father. Thus the Spirit of God lets us take a glance into the mysterious work of Christ's satisfaction, which, however, makes his love and merit for us, as well as our guilt, appear equally great."

22. Salva me ex ore leonis, &c.

"Here there is the same prayer of the Saviour, only with a new turn of language and under a new figure, as an expression of the agonized soul, and of the humiliation of the supplicant."

23. Narrabo nomen tuum fratribus meis, &c.

"The Saviour begins now to depict the fruits of his humiliation, which would soon show themselves in the faith in him, which was to be established through his resurrection, so that he would then be in a condition to make known the name of God to his brethren, to finish the mission that he had received from the Father on earth. He calls us that were to be redeemed by him his brethren, as he, the risen Lord, said to Magdalene, I shall go to my Father and to your Father, to my God and to your God.' And truly he will praise God

the Father in the midst of the assembly in the church of God, through the continual mediation of his manhood with the Father, through which atonement and sanctification of the assembly, honour and service will be given to the Father. Moreover, the apostle quotes this passage in the Epistle to the Hebrews, where he says, (ii. 12,) for which cause he is not ashamed to call them brethren, saying, I will declare thy name to my brethren."

24, 25. Qui timetis Dominum, &c.

"To fear God, means to know him and to serve him. Thus when Jonas was asked of what people he was, I am a Hebrew, and fear God who hath made heaven and earth. So also in Daniel it is said, Then shall all fear the God of Daniel. Of Judith it is said that she feared God greatly, that is, served him incessantly and faithfully. So in that place of the Psalm, Blessed is man that feareth God;' which is then explained by what follows, and longeth after thy commandments.'

"The Saviour therefore here requires all who, serving him, walk in the knowledge of God, and consequently have a longing for eternal happiness, to praise God, because through the accomplishment of the redemption, the fulness of grace will be poured upon all those who seek the Father with faith in his Son. And, indeed, these fruits of the redemption will those true Israelites first obtain, who from the beginning have lived in faith in the promised Redeemer, and in this faith have died, and wait for the moment when they, having become partakers of Christ's redemption, shall go in with him to the Father: but then that spiritual Israel which, coming forth from the old, shall form the new church of Christ, in which now justification and grace are continually obtained by those who are washed clean in the blood of the Lamb. And indeed our thankfulness for this should pass on to the Father, because he has had respect to the prayer of the poor-the prayer of him, that is, who for our sakes became so weak and wretched; through our sins was so ill-treated, that it was only through much crying and invoking that he obtained a hearing for his reverence to the Father, as the Apostle writes, Heb. v. 7."

26. Apud te laus mea in Ecclesia magna: vota mea reddam, &c.

"The Saviour who before had summoned all those who had obtained justice through him, to the praise of God, now himself proclaims that from this time an incessant praise shall sound forth from those who through this atoning death have obtained grace, to God the Father in Christ his Son: and that in the great assembly, in the Church universal, which was to spread through the whole world, in which Jesus will continually offer through his priesthood, that which he had vowed to the Father for men, that offering of VOL. XXIII.—NO. XLV. 4

atonement which restores again the reverence due to the Father, which he offered in blood upon the cross, in that bloodless offering of the New Testament, which from the present time will be offered in the sight of those who fear God, confess him in truth, and serve him in holiness; offered, not like those offerings of the heathen, in superstition and vice."

27. Edent pauperes et saturabuntur, &c.

"The poor in spirit, that is, who in lowly faith turn to Jesus, and with a sense of their interior necessitousness, are driven by a holy hunger to seek for grace and justice, who will eat of the meat offering which is daily renewed in the Church of God, and be satisfied and obtain contentment, since they possess their God, are united with him in a way throughout gracious and wonderful: and so will all praise the Lord who seek him, who in faith have found and serve him. For how could a greater grace be given them? And so will their hearts, filled with overflowing joy, live in truth, whereas they would have pined away without their God; but they will live thus in God eternally, as our Saviour says, Whosoever eateth of this bread, shall live for ever."

28. Reminiscentur et convertentur, &c.

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This, then, will be the great fruit of the redemption, that mankind who had erred so far in ignorance and sin from their Lord and God, will recollect themselves, and turn themselves to him and this service will be paid to the true God, not as formerly by one people, but all ends of the earth will turn to the Lord, the whole world will be Christian, all the different peoples of the heathen will throw themselves down in prayer before him whom they have acknowledged as their Lord and God, who bled for them on Golgotha."

29. Quoniam Domini est regnum, &c.

"The kingdom is the Lord's, that is Christ's, who as Lord and King of the new realm of grace, is to rule over the earth; to whom the Father has given all power in heaven and in earth, to whom all people will turn themselves, and to whom the Lordship belongs as the Prince of the kings of the earth."

30. Manducaverunt et adoraverunt omnes pingues terræ, &c.

"St. Cyprian explains this passage of the Lord's Table, where we both adore and eat the Saviour; and indeed, as it was said before, the poor shall eat and be satisfied,' inasmuch as the kingdom of God will chiefly consist of the poor; so here is added that in a short time even the rich and great will worship the Lord and be fed by him. Thus will all, poor and rich, high and low, fall