Psalms 139 · The Lantern

In finem. Psalmus David.

Eripe me, Domine, ab homine malo; a viro iniquo eripe me.

Qui cogitaverunt iniquitates in corde, tota die constituebant prælia.

Acuerunt linguas suas sicut serpentis; venenum aspidum sub labiis eorum.

Custodi me, Domine, de manu peccatoris, et ab hominibus iniquis eripe me. Qui cogitaverunt supplantare gressus meos:

absconderunt superbi laqueum mihi. Et funes extenderunt in laqueum; juxta iter, scandalum posuerunt mihi.

And so, when you have gone over all these points with suitable reflections on each, when you have, in addition, studied the process of breathing, the manner in which the heart conserves its warmth, the organs of digestion and the veins, you will discern in all of these wonders the inscrutable wisdom of the Creator; so that you will be able to say with the prophet: "Your knowled…

"Thy skill hath displayed itself wonderfully in me: it hath waxed mighty: I shall not be able to attain unto it" (ver. 6). Listen now and hear somewhat, which is obscure indeed, yet bringeth no small pleasure in the understanding thereon.

The height of God is beyond investigation. Hence, "such knowledge is too wonderful for me; too lofty for me to attain."

Dixi Domino: Deus meus es tu; exaudi, Domine, vocem deprecationis meæ.

Since, therefore, all things are seen and heard, let us fear him and abandon the abominable lusts that spawn evil works, in order that we may be shielded by his mercy from the coming judgments. For where can any of us escape from his mighty hand? For the Scripture says somewhere, "Where shall I go, and where shall I be hidden from your presence?

Behold you find that the runaway in a far country cannot escape His eyes, from whom he flees. And whither can he go now, whose "limit is tracked out"? Behold, what says he? "Whither shall I go from Your Spirit?" [Psalm 139:7]. Who can in the world flee from that Spirit, with whom the world is filled?

Hold most firmly and never doubt that God the Trinity is unbounded in power, not in mass; and that every creature, spiritual and bodily, is bound by his power and his presence.

Domine, Domine, virtus salutis meæ, obumbrasti super caput meum in die belli.

If they really conceive of a kind of degradation of the Son in relation to the Father, as though He were in a lower place, so that the Father sits above, and the Son is thrust off to the next seat below, let them confess what they mean. We shall have no more to say. A plain statement of the view will at once expose its absurdity.

For Deity alone is uncircumscribed, existing everywhere, and as the same and in the same manner. For if I ascend, saith David, into heaven, thou art there; if I descend into Hades thou art present there; if I should take to myself wings at morning—that is, in the east—and dwell in the uttermost parts of the sea—that is, in the west—even there shall thy hand lead me: evidently i…

Job says: "I always feared God as though waves were swelling over me." And why? I cannot flee on account of the sublimity of divine power, because "if I ascend into heaven, thou art there; if I descend into hell, thou art present; if I take my wings at dawn and dwell in the uttermost parts of the sea, even there thy hand shall lead me, and thy right hand shall hold me." Likewis…

Ne tradas me, Domine, a desiderio meo peccatori: cogitaverunt contra me; ne derelinquas me, ne forte exaltentur.

Caput circuitus eorum: labor labiorum ipsorum operiet eos.

Cadent super eos carbones; in ignem dejicies eos: in miseriis non subsistent.

Vir linguosus non dirigetur in terra; virum injustum mala capient in interitu.

Cognovi quia faciet Dominus judicium inopis, et vindictam pauperum.

Verumtamen justi confitebuntur nomini tuo, et habitabunt recti cum vultu tuo.

Psalms139