6 Wherefore this? “You have given to men fearing You, a sign that they should flee from the face of the bow”. Through tribulations temporal, he says, You have signified to Your own to flee from the wrath of fire everlasting. For, says the Apostle Peter, “Time it is that Judgment begin with the House of God.” And exhorting the Martyrs to endurance, when the world should rage, when slaughters should be made at the hands of persecutors, when far and wide blood of believers should be spilled, when in chains, in prisons, in tortures, many hard things Christians should suffer, in these hard things, I say, lest they should faint, Peter says to them, “Time it is that Judgment begin with the House of God,” etc. What therefore is to be in the Judgment? The bow is bended, still in menacing posture it is, not yet in aiming. And see what there is in the bow: is there not an arrow to be shot forward? The string however is stretched back in a contrary direction to that in which it is going to be shot; and the more the stretching thereof has gone backward, with the greater swiftness it starts forward. What is it that I have said? The more the Judgment is deferred, with so much the greater swiftness it is to come. Therefore even for temporal tribulations to God let us render thanks, because He has given to His people a sign, “that they should flee from the face of the bow:” in order that His faithful ones having been exercised in tribulations temporal, may be worthy to avoid the condemnation of fire everlasting, which is to find out all them that do not believe these things.
7. “That Your beloved may be delivered: save me with Your right hand, and hearken unto me”. With Your right hand save me, Lord: so save me as that at the right hand I may stand. Not any safety temporal I require, in this matter Your Will be done. For a time what is good for us we are utterly ignorant: for “what we should pray for as we ought we know not:” but “save me with Your right hand,” so that even if in this time I suffer sundry tribulations, when the night of all tribulations has been spent, on the right hand I may be found among the sheep, not on the left hand among the goats. “And hearken unto me.” Because now I am deserving that which You are willing to give; not “with the words of my transgressions” I am crying through the day, so that Thou hearken not, and “in the night so that Thou hearken not,” and that not for folly to me, but truly for my warning, by adding savour from the valley of salt-pits, so that in tribulation I may know what to ask: but I ask life everlasting; therefore hearken unto me, because Your right hand I ask....
8. “God has spoken in His Holy One”....In what Holy One of His? “God was in Christ reconciling the world to Himself.” In that Holy One, of whom elsewhere you have heard, “O God, in the Holy One is Your way.” “I will rejoice and will divide Sichima....and the valley of tabernacles I will measure out.” Sichima is interpreted shoulders. But according to history, Jacob returning from Laban his father-in-law with all his kindred, hid the idols in Sichima which he had from Syria, where for a long time he had dwelled, and at length was coming from thence. But tabernacles he made there because of his sheep and herds, and called the place Tabernacles. And these I will divide, says the Church. What is this, “I will divide Sichima”? If to the story where the idols were hidden is the reference, the Gentiles it signifies; I divide the Gentiles. I divide, is what? “For not in all men is there faith.” I divide, is what? Some will believe, others will not believe....The shoulders are divided, in order that their sins may burden some men, while others may take up the burden of Christ. For godly shoulders He was requiring when He said, “For My yoke is gentle, and My burden is light.” Another burden oppresses and loads you, but Christ's burden relieves you: another burden has weight, Christ's burden has wings. For even if you pull off the wings from a bird, you remove a kind of weight; and the more weight you have taken away, the more on earth it will abide. She that you have chosen to disburden lies there: she flies not, because you have taken off a weight: let there be given back the weight, and she flies. Such is Christ's burden; let men carry it, and not be idle: let them not be heeded that will not bear it; let them bear it that will, and they shall find how light it is, how sweet, how pleasant, how ravishing unto Heaven, and from earth how transporting....Perchance because of the sheep of Jacob, “the valley of Tabernacles” is to be understood of the nation of the Jews, and the same is divided: for they have passed from thence that have believed, the rest have remained without.
9. “Mine is Galaad”. These names are read in the Scriptures of God. Galaad has the voice of an interpretation of its own and of a great Mystery: for it is interpreted “the heap of testimony.” How great a heap of testimony in the Martyrs? “Mine is Galaad,” mine is a heap of testimony, mine are the true Martyrs....Then meanly esteemed was the Church among men, then reproach on Her a Widow was being thrown, because Christ's She was, because the sign of the Cross on her brow She was wearing: not yet was there honour, censure there was then: when therefore not honour, but censure there was, then was made a heap of witness; and through the heap of witness was the Love of Christ enlarged; and through the enlargement of the Love of Christ, were the Gentiles possessed. There follows, “And mine is Manasses;” which is interpreted forgotten. For to Her had been said, “Confusion for everlasting You shall forget, and of the reproach of Your widowhood You shall not be mindful.” There was therefore a confusion of the Church once, which now has been forgotten: for of Her confusion and of the “reproach” of Her widowhood now She is not mindful. For when there was a sort of confusion among men, a heap of witness was made. Now no longer does any even remember that confusion, when it was a reproach to be a Christian, now no one remembers, now all have forgotten, now “Mine is Manasses, and Ephraim the strength of My head.” Ephraim is interpreted fruitfulness. Mine, he says, is fruitfulness, and this fruitfulness is the strength of My Head. For My Head is Christ. And whence is fruitfulness the strength of Him? Because unless a grain were to fall into the earth, it would not be multiplied, alone it would remain. Fall then to earth did Christ in His Passion, and there followed fruit-bearing in the Resurrection. He was hanging and was being despised: the grain was within, it had powers to draw after it all things. How in a grain do numbers of seeds lie hidden, something abject it appears to the eyes, but a power turning into itself matter and bringing forth fruit is hidden; so in Christ's Cross virtue was hidden, there appeared weakness. O mighty grain! Doubtless weak is He that hangs, Doubtless before Him that people did wag the head, Doubtless they said, “If Son of God He is, let Him come down from the Cross.” Hear the strength of Him: that which is a weak thing of God, is stronger than men. With reason so great fruitfulness has followed: it is mine, says the Church.
Source: The Enarrations, or Expositions, on the Psalms (New Advent)