Instead of three psalms or canticles today’s Office of Readings divides Psalm 31 into three parts.
I. Psa 31:1 (31:2) In thee, O Lord, have I hoped, let me never be confounded: deliver me in thy justice.
Psa 31:2 (31:3) Bow down thy ear to me: make haste to deliver me. Be thou unto me a God, a protector, and a house of refuge, to save me.
Psa 31:3 (31:4) For thou art my strength and my refuge; and for thy name’s sake thou wilt lead me, and nourish me.
Psa 31:4 (31:5) Thou wilt bring me out of this snare, which they have hidden for me: for thou art my protector.
Psa 31:5 (31:6) Into thy hands I commend my spirit: thou hast redeemed me, O Lord, the God of truth.
Psa 31:6 (31:7) Thou hast hated them that regard vanities, to no purpose. But I have hoped in the Lord:
Psa 31:7 (31:8) I will be glad and rejoice in thy mercy. For thou hast regarded my humility, thou hast saved my soul out of distresses.
Psa 31:8 (31:9) And thou hast not shut me up in the hands of the enemy: thou hast set my feet in a spacious place.
II. Psa 31:9 (31:10) Have mercy on me, O Lord, for I am afflicted: my eye is troubled with wrath, my soul, and my belly:
Psa 31:10 (31:11) For my life is wasted with grief: and my years in sighs. My strength is weakened through poverty and my bones are disturbed.
Psa 31:11 (31:12) I am become a reproach among all my enemies, and very much to my neighbours; and a fear to my acquaintance. They that saw me without fled from me.
Psa 31:12 (31:13) I am forgotten as one dead from the heart. I am become as a vessel that is destroyed.
Psa 31:13 (31:14) For I have heard the blame of many that dwell round about. While they assembled together against me, they consulted to take away my life.
Psa 31:14 (31:15) But I have put my trust in thee, O Lord: I said: Thou art my God.
Psa 31:15 (31:16) My lots are in thy hands. Deliver me out of the hands of my enemies; and from them that persecute me.
Psa 31:16 (31:17) Make thy face to shine upon thy servant; save me in thy mercy.
III. Psa 31:19 (31:20) O how great is the multitude of thy sweetness, O Lord, which thou hast hidden for them that fear thee! Which thou hast wrougth for them that hope in thee, in the sight of the sons of men.
Psa 31:20 (31:21) Thou shalt hide them in the secret of thy face, from the disturbance of men. Thou shalt protect them in thy tabernacle form the contradiction of tongues.
Psa 31:21 (31:22) Blessed be the Lord, for he hath shewn his wonderful mercy to me in a fortified city.
Psa 31:22 (31:23) But I said in the excess of my mind: I am cast away from before thy eyes. Therefore thou hast heard the voice of my prayer, when I cried to thee.
Psa 31:23 (31:24) O love the Lord, all ye his saints: for the Lord will require truth, and will repay them abundantly that act proudly.
Psa 31:24 (31:25) Do ye manfully, and let your heart be strengthened, all ye that hope in the Lord.
Commentary by St Augustine.
A Patristic/Medieval Commentary on Psalm 31. This is from a book compiled by a 19th century Anglican scholar who on occasion does make passing critiques of certain Catholic teachings. In spite of this the work is of great interest and value.
First Reading, Amos 2:4-16.
Vs 4 Thus saith the Lord: For three crimes of Juda, and for four I will not convert him: because he hath cast away the law of the Lord, and hath not kept his commandments: for their idols have caused them to err, after which their fathers have walked.
Juda refers to the southern kingdom consisting of the tribes of Judah and Benjamin. After the death of Solomon, the ten other tribes which were located in the northern part of the Holy Land went into rebellion and formed a new kingdom which retained the name Israel. This new kingdom quickly fell into idolatry and immorality from which it was never able to extricate itself. The fact that the prophet has just condemned 6 pagan nations, and now turns his attention to Judah, was intended to shock the people of the Northern Kingdom of Israel. If God’s people in Judah could be treated as the Pagans then so too could His people in the north.
I will not convert him. The Hebrew reads: “I will not cause it to turn back.” Who or what “it” refers to is debated. The Douay Rheims takes it as a reference to the people of Judah personified as a corporate entity (“him”). Most modern translations understand “it” to refer to God’s punishment: “For three transgressions of Judah, and for four, I will not revoke the punishment.” (RSV)
They have cast away the law of the Lord, and hath not kept his commandments: for their idols have caused them to err, after which their fathers have walked. They have broken the covenant (see Deut 4 and 28).
5 And I will send a fire into Juda, and it shall devour the houses of Jerusalem. In light of the preceding condemnations of Pagan peoples this should be interpreted as a threat of military siege and destruction.
Having spoke judgement oracles against seven nations, including Judah, the prophet begins his eighth and longest oracle -against Israel itself.
2:6-8 ECONOMIC INJUSTICE
Vs 6. Thus says the Lord: For the three transgressions of Israel, and for four, I will not call it back; because for silver they have sold the righteous, and for a pair of sandals the destitute.
As we have seen already, transgression means deliberate rebellion against God. In Israel’s case, however, the trangression is more deplorable than it was with the pagan nations because it, unlike those nations, was privileged with the law, the revealed will of God (see Deut 4:5-8). Judah too, in a short, two sentence statement, was condemned for its infidelity to the law, but Amos sees Israel’s sins as much worse.
In the first reason given for the condemnation, the operative words are the righteous and the destitute, not “silver” or “sandals”. The sin of Israel, its rebellion against the revealed will of God, is injustice toward men which manifests itself in greed. This brings to mind a famous Biblical text:
He (Jesus) said to him: “You shall love the Lord, your God, with your whole heart, with your whole soul, and with your whole mind. This is the first and greatest commandment. The second is like it: you mst love your neighbor as yourself. The whole of the law and of the prophets rests on these two commands. (see Mt 22:34-40. Also Lev 19:18)
As will be seen later, the righteous are sold and the needy are cheated by bribery in the law courts.
Vs 7 They lust for the very dust of the land that has settled on the head of the poor. They pervert the way of the poor; a man and his father go to the same servant, so as to profane my holy name.
Their greed, the manifestation of their unrighteousness, shows itself as greed for land. This greed is here described as so intense that it is a lusting after the very dust of the land that has settled on the poor man’s head!
they pervert the way of the poor. The Hebrew word for way is derek, like its Greek counterpart hodos, it refers literally to a path or road (highway, freeway, pathway). In the Bible, both words are used to denote moral activity (see psalm 1). The sense here could be that the action of the unrighteous leads the poor man into unrighteousness. Another possible interpretation is that the word poor is being used here in the sense of meek or humble. They pervert the way of the meek would then mean that they have left the right road, the right course of moral activity. They no longer walk the road of the humble. (Again, see the metaphor of “the way” in psalm 1).
A man and his father go into the same servant: The law in Leviticus 18:8 and 20:11-12 forbid a father and son from having sexual relations with the same woman. Such an act was considered a form of incest and a gross perversion of the moral order, thus a profaning of the holy name of God.
The word I translated as servant could also be translated as prositute. But given the econmic context of vss 6-8 I think servant is better. A man could put his daughter into servitude to pay off a debt, alleviate a desperate financial situation, or simply because he could not take proper care of her. The law provided protection for such women (see Exodus 21:7-11). It may be that the wealthy men of Isarel were cheating and taking advantage of the poor to gain their daughters as “sexual” servants. (This is the view of Marvin Sweeney in THE TWELVE PROPHETS, Vol. 1).
Vs 8 And on garments taken in pledge they stretch themselves out beside every altar, and they drink the wine of the condemned in the place of their gods.
If a person owed a debt certain of his garments could be taken in pledge ((Ex 22:25-26), but these had to be returned to him at night for humanitarian reasons. According to Deuteronomy 24:12-13, a man who took anothers garment as a debt pledge was forbidden to sleep on it since it had to be returned to the debtor for him to sleep in. Apparently, Amos is accusing the wealthy of not breaking the law of Deuteronomy. However, not simplu content to break this law, they compound it by drinking the wine of the condmned. Condmned here means those who have had a legal judgement go against them. Fines could be paid with agricultural commodities. As we have already noted, the courts in Israel were perverted by bribes. The prophet is here condemning people for enjoying ill-gotten wine on ill-gotten garments. Worse still, they are enjoying these things beside every altar in the place of their gods. They enjoy the fruits of their perversion of justice beside the altars of the “high places” so often condemned by the prophets (see Hosea 10:8; Amos 7:9).
2:9-11 WHAT GOD HAS DONE FOR HIS PEOPLE
Vs9 Yet it was I who destroyed the Amorites before them, who were as high as the heights of the cedars, and who were as strong as the oaks; I destroyed the fruit that was above and the roots that were beneath.
The opening of verse 9 is emphatic. It highlights the marked contrast between what God has done for Israel and how they have responded.
Amorites refers to a Semetic speaking people who migrated into the Holy Land, Syria, and Mesopotamia (Iraq) early in the second millenium BC. The Bible identifies them , along with Canaanites and Hittites, as possessing the Holy Land before the advent of the twelve tribes. The Bible presents the Amorites as idolaters and as exceedingly sinful and this is given as the reason for God’s action against them (see Leviticus 18:24-30).
Their height is compared to that of the cedar tree and their strength is compared to that of an oak. In the bible, trees are often used as a symbol of might, but also of pride and arrogance (see Ezekiel 31; Isaiah 2:13; and my notes on Isaiah 2:13-16). The Amorites were too strong and powerful for the People of God to defeat without God’s help (see Numbers 13:25-14:45). For the sake of his people God destroyed the tree-like Amorites completely: their fruit above and their root beneath.
Vs 10 And it was I who brought you up from the land of Egypt, and who led you in the wilderness for forty years, so that you might take possession of the land of the amorites.
The forty years in the wilderness was a result of the people’s lack of trust in God, manifested in their refusal to trust that he could conqueor the Amorites (see the Numbers link above). Yet, although God did punish the people for this sin he did not reject them, he thus manifested both his justice and his mercy. Even in the midst of their forty year punishment God took care of them (Deut 8:1-5). The purpose of all they experienced those forty years was so that they might take possession of the land.
Vs 11 From among your sons I raised up prophets; and from among your young men (I raised up) Nazarites. Is this not so, O sons of Israel? says the Lord.
Once the people had come into the Holy Land God raised up prophets for them, to ensure that they stayed on the straight and narrow in their relations with him, for a prime duty of the prophet was to oversee the right worship of God and the eradication of idolatry (Deut 18:9-22).
Nazarites The law regarding Nazarites can be found in Numbers 6:1-7. The exact significance of Nazarites is unknown. The term means “dedicated”, this may imply that they were meant to be examples to the people of holiness and commitment to God since things were made holy when they were dedicated to the service of the Lord.
2:12-16 A FURTHER SIN AND GOD’S RESPONSE
Vs 12 But you caused the Nazarites to drink wine, and demanded of the prophet: “Do not prophecy.”
They probably find commitment to the Lord a burden on their own guilty consciences, and so they force the Nazarite to abandon his commitment in order to feel better about themselves. Some things never change. For the same reason, prophets calling for right morality and a commitment to God are silenced. “Why should I listen to a celibate in Rome talk about sex and marriage?” “Don’t impose your morality on me!” Like I said, some things never change.
Vs 13 Behold, I will press down upon you as sheaves press down upon a cart.
Having found God’s moral will a burden, the people will now be burdened by the the Lord’s punishment, which will weigh upon them like produce in an overloaded cart.
Vs 14 Flight will perish from the fleet, the strong will not hold onto his strengh, and the mighty one will not deliver himself.
Vs 15 The skilled bowman will not stand, and the fleet of foot shall not deliver himself, and the one who rides a horse shall not save his life.
Vs 16 The stoutest heart among the mighty shall run away naked on that day, says the Lord.
The self-reliant, the “free moral agents”, will not be so fast, strong, or mighty, to save themselves from God’s wrath (Vs 14). This wrath will apparently manifest it self in the form of an invading army (Vss 15-16); the Assyrians, who would destroy the Northern Kingdom in 722 BC. All my notes on Amos can be found here.
Second Reading, The Epistle of Barnabas:
He has therefore abolished these things, that the new law of our Lord Jesus Christ, which is without the yoke of necessity, might have a human oblation.16 And again He says to them, “Did I command your fathers, when they went out from the land of Egypt, to offer unto Me burnt-offerings and sacrifices? But this rather I commanded them, Let no one of you cherish any evil in his heart against his neighbour, and love not an oath of falsehood.” (Jer_7:22; Zec_8:17) We ought therefore, being possessed of understanding, to perceive the gracious intention of our Father; for He speaks to us, desirous that we, not17 going astray like them, should ask how we may approach Him. To us, then, He declares, “A sacrifice [pleasing] to God is a broken spirit; a smell of sweet savour to the Lord is a heart that glorifieth Him that made it.”18 We ought therefore, brethren, carefully to inquire concerning our salvation, lest the wicked one, having made his entrance by deceit, should huff19 us forth from our [true] life.
He says then to them again concerning these things, “Why do ye fast to Me as on this day, saith the Lord, that your voice should be heard with a cry? I have not chosen this fast, saith the Lord, that a man should humble his soul. Nor, though ye bend your neck like a ring, and put upon you sackcloth and ashes, will ye call it an acceptable fast.” (Isa_58:4, Isa_58:5) To us He saith, “Behold, this is the fast that I have chosen, saith the Lord, not that a man should humble his soul, but that he should loose every band of iniquity, untie the fastenings of harsh agreements, restore to liberty them that are bruised, tear in pieces every unjust engagement, feed the hungry with thy bread, clothe the naked when thou seest him, bring the homeless into thy house, not despise the humble if thou behold him, and not [turn away] from the members of thine own family. Then shall thy dawn break forth, and thy healing shall quickly spring up, and righteousness shall go forth before thee, and the glory of God shall encompass thee; and then thou shalt call, and God shall hear thee; whilst thou art yet speaking, He shall say, Behold, I am with thee; if thou take away from thee the chain [binding others], and the stretching forth of the hands20 [to swear falsely], and words of murmuring, and give cheerfully thy bread to the hungry, and show compassion to the soul that has been humbled.” (Isa_58:6-10) To this end, therefore, brethren, He is long-suffering, foreseeing how the people whom He has prepared shall with guilelessness believe in His Beloved. For He revealed all these things to us beforehand, that we should not rush forward as rash acceptors of their laws.21
let us flee from every vanity, let us utterly hate the works of the way of wickedness. Do not, by retiring apart, live a solitary life, as if you were already [fully] justified; but coming together in one place, make common inquiry concerning what tends to your general welfare. For the Scripture saith, “Woe to them who are wise to themselves, and prudent in their own sight!” (Isa_5:21) Let us be spiritually-minded: let us be a perfect temple to God. As much as in us lies, let us meditate upon the fear of God, and let us keep His commandments, that we may rejoice in His ordinances. The Lord will judge the world without respect of persons. Each will receive as he has done: if he is righteous, his righteousness will precede him; if he is wicked, the reward of wickedness is before him. Take heed, lest resting at our ease, as those who are the called [of God], we should fall asleep in our sins, and the wicked prince, acquiring power over us, should thrust us away from the kingdom of the Lord. And all the more attend to this, my brethren, when ye reflect and behold, that after so great signs and wonders were wrought in Israel, they were thus [at length] abandoned. Let us beware lest we be found [fulfilling that saying], as it is written, “Many are called, but few are chosen.”31 This reading was excerpted from chapters 3 and 4 of the Epistle. the chapters (and the Epistle) in full can be read here.
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This Weeks Posts: Sunday, Sept 19-Saturday, Sept 25
Posted by Dim Bulb on September 25, 2010
Some posts listed below are scheduled in advance and will not be available until the time indicated.
SUNDAY, SEPT 19:
Last Weeks Posts.
Resources for Sunday Mass, Sept 19.
MONDAY, SEPT 20: Memorial of Saint Andrew Kim Taegŏn, priest and martyr, and Saint Paul Chŏng Hasang, martyr, and their companions, martyrs.
Today’s Readings.
My Brief Notes on Today’s First Reading. Available 12:05 AM EST. Available 12:05 AM EST.
Aquinas’ Catena Aurea on Today’s Gospel. Available 12:05 AM EST.
TUESDAY, SEPT 21: Feast of St Matthew, Apostle and Martyr.
Today’s Scripture Readings.
Pope Benedict XVI on St Matthew.
Catholic Encyclopedia on St Matthew.
St Matthew. From Catholic Culture. Includes things to do in honor of St Matthew and a list of professions he is patron of.
Aquinas’ Lectures on Ephesians Chapter 4.
A Devout Commentary on Ephesians Based Upon the Lectures of Aquinas. Online book. Commentary on chapter 4 starts on page 104.
Commentary on Ephesians 4. Online book by Father George Hitchcock. This work is under copyright.
Aquinas Catena Aurea on Today’s Gospel, Matt 9:9-13. Available 12:05 AM EST.
My Notes on Amos 6:1a, 4-7 for Sunday Mass, Sept 26. This post contains my notes on all of chapter 6.
Pope John Paul II on Psalm 146 for Sunday Mass, Sept 26. Part of his commentary series on the Psalms and Canticles of the Divine Office’s Morning and Evening prayers.
Aquinas’ Catena Aurea on Luke 16:19-31 for Sunday Mass, Sept 26. Available 12:15 AM EST.
WEDNESDAY, SEPT 22:
Today’s Readings.
Aquinas’ Catena Aurea on Today’s Gospel. Available 12:05 AM EST.
Father Callan on 1 Corinthians 4:14-21. Available 12:10 AM EST.
Aquinas’ Catena Aurea on Matt 9:1-8 for Sunday Mass, Sept 26 (Extraordinary Form). Available 12:15 AM EST.
UPDATE. Resources for Sunday Mass, Sept 26.
THURSDAY, SEPT 23:
Today’s Readings.
Pope John Paul II’s Commentary on Today’s Psalm.
Aquinas’ Catena Aurea on Today’s Gospel (Luke 9:7-9). Available 12:05 AM EST.
Aquinas Lecture, 2010~”The Intermediate State and the Restoration of Israel: N.T. Wright and St. Thomas Aquinas On Our Eschatological Future.”
FRIDAY, SEPT. 24:
Today’s Readings.
Pope John Paul II on Today’s Psalm (Psalm 144). Available 12:05 AM EST.
Aquinas’ Catena Aurea on Today’s Gospel (Luke 9:18-22). Available 12:10 AM EST.
Reason Number 300,093,390,875,001 To Hate The News Media.
SATURDAY, SEPT 25:
Today’s Readings.
Aquinas’ Catena Aurea on Today’s Gospel.
Aquinas’ Sermon Notes on the Epistle for Sunday, Sept 26 (Extraordinary Form).
Father Callan on 1 Corinthians 5.
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